Does this woman know who killed Kaweesi?

Following the murder, Inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura directed Grace Akullo, the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) to head the investigations.

Akullo, police said, would coordinate with other security agencies; namely ISO, Special Forces Command and the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).

But almost instantly, each agency started working separately as was expected because of the interagency rivalry that has often been cited as the biggest impediment to cooperation amongst Ugandan security agencies.

Initially, the biggest fear was the animosity amongst the heads of the bodies. Gen. Kayihura and even Kaweesi who had just been murdered had been key subjects of ISO reports.

At the time, the Director General of ISO was Col. Ronnie Balya. The police bosses accused Balya of fighting them because he targeted their jobs.

Col. Balya was at the height of 2016 rumoured to be amongst those

President Museveni was considering to replace Kayihura. AIGP Kaweesi was seen as a potential Kayihura successor too.

But early this year, Kayihura’s contract was renewed and this ceased to be an issue. Kayihura appeared to triumph against, Lt.Gen. Henry Tumukunde, who had after the 2016 elections been appointed Security Minister and had been fighting to see Kayihura booted out of police.

Initially, Tumukunde and Balya got along well. However, later, the two fell out because Tumukunde always wanted Balya to supply him with key intelligence before sending it to President Yoweri Museveni, sources said.

Balya had declined to do this because he also always wanted to deliver the same himself. With Balya out, however, Tumukunde got a better replacement in Col. Kaka Bagyenda, an old hand in intelligence and an ally.

Kaka is seen as a recruit of the President’s brother Salim Saleh, who is also said to have been responsible for the rehabilitation and eventual re-appointment of Tumukunde.

But just as had been feared, Kaka’s reports started targeting Tumukunde’s foes with Kayihura at the top of the list.

For instance, in March this year, President Museveni and his handlers received intelligence that the police chief was scheduled to announce a presidential bid at a hotel in Mbarara, western Uganda.

Whoever was behind it claimed having realised that he was about to get fired, Kayihura had hatched a surprise move to protect himself in case Museveni attempted to contain him.

Intelligence agents had brought printed T-shirts and flyers, which they claimed Kayihura was to use to announce his presidency. Museveni had been severally warned that in 11 million crime preventers (Kayihura’s figures), he had handed the police chief the most effective campaign machine.

Special Forces Command was put on standby and deployed. Other covert intelligence organisations like ISO had already deployed at the alleged venue, sources claim. Then all of a sudden, before SFC soldiers could take positions, they were recalled. The event was a hoax.

The following month, ISO released an even more lethal report implicating officials at the Central Bank, former Minister Jim Muhwezi, Secretary to the Treasury Keith Muhakanizi and businessman Bob Kabonero in a scheme to defraud government of millions of dollars.

This prompted Museveni to call a meeting on April 5, at 03:45 at State House Entebbe. In attendance was Bank of Uganda Governor Tumusiime Mutebile, Inspector General of Government Irene Mulyagonja and ISO’s Bagyenda Kaka.

According to the minutes of the meeting a copy of which The Independent has seen, the President informed the officials that money had been stolen from the central bank.

The alleged theft, he said, happened through two transfers. The first transfer was of US$20million from the GAVI Fund account. The second was of US$18million from the Works in Progress suspense account.

After making this presentation, the President told the meeting that the details of the transfers would be got from a report by the ISO Director General.

He asked the Governor to investigate the transfers and report back on Friday, April 7 two days later.