Kampala – Three suspects have been arrested in the murder of blogger and political analyst Isma Ibrahim Tusubila alias Isma Olaxess and Jajja Iculi on Saturday evening.
Olaxess who was the chairperson of Uganda Bloggers Association was gunned down near his home in Kyanja Central Zone, Kampala on Saturday at around 9:20 pm.
At the time of his attack by unknown assailants, Olaxess was traveling in his motor vehicle registration number UBK 213 D, with his driver, Mathias Waiswa.
According to Fred Enanga the police spokesperson, investigations into the tragic murder are ongoing by teams from the Criminal Investigations Directorate, Crime Intelligence Directorate, Forensics and IT Directorates of police.
“We are continuing to gather evidence and interview witnesses to determine the circumstances of the case. What we can confirm is that it wasn’t a random attack but a targeted incident where two assailants armed with one pistol emerged from their hideout near his gate and fired multiple shots at close range killing him instantly from the passenger seat.” Enanga told Journalists at police headquarters on Monday.
He added, “His driver Waiswa Mathias remained unscathed without any injuries despite the bullets which riddled the driver’s side and because of that, he is still in our protective custody helping out with certain lines of inquiry.”
Enanga noted that besides the driver, two other suspects were also arrested and are being interrogated over the same.
Meanwhile, the police mouthpiece revealed that they are reviewing the entire movement of the victim and his driver on the day of the tragic incident.
“We are also reviewing the entire movement of the victim and this driver from Munyonyo where he was playing football at around 4 pm via the Entebbe Expressway, they stopped over for dinner at Nyakana’s bar in Mutungo before they left at around 8:15 pm for his home,” he said
Enanga also revealed that their cyber teams are investigating the person behind a phone call the victim received on his way home.
“….as soon as they left Mutungo when they reached Munyonyo roundabout, the victim Isma received a phone call and he asked the driver Waiswa to park aside because the person behind the phone call was telling him to wait for him there.” he said
“They waited for the person behind that phone call in vain, and so they drove on until when they reached the gate at around 9:20 where they were attacked and the victim shot dead. So it’s not clear whether the caller is linked to the masterminds of this murder or not but our investigations will be able to establish in due course,” he added
Enanga said the motive of the murder hasn’t yet been established and called upon the public to refrain from speculating about the same.
“…there’s a lot of rampant speculation about the murder by different bloggers, netizens, the media, everybody is bringing out his version but we call upon the public to remain calm and patient. This continuous speculation is a disservice, first of all to the family and the public bse those many versions haven’t been very verified,” said Enanga
“We are aware that some of his videos were controversial but we are yet to establish whether his murder is related to his social media work or other motive,” he added
The blogger was buried on Sunday in Mukono district.