Circumstantial evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that the murder of Engineer Daniel Bbosa was a carefully planned assassination, carried out after his killers intercepted his vehicle on a motorcycle and shot him at close range near his home.
The High Court in Kampala consequently sentenced Lujja Bbosa Tabula and Noah Lugya to death after both pleaded guilty to the premeditated murder of the former Ndiga clan leader.
Bbosa was gunned down on February 25, 2024, at about 6:00pm as he drove his Toyota Prado home from a function in Katosi. As he approached his residence in Kikandwa Zone, Lungujja, the assailants riding a motorcycle with a disguised number plate caught up with him and opened fire.
He was shot three times while in the vehicle with his wife and domestic worker.
Murderers caught after crash
The killers’ escape was cut short when a vigilant resident used a vehicle to ram their motorcycle, knocking them down.
An angry mob descended on the suspects, killing one of them, later identified as Enock Sserunkuma. Lugya, who was 21 at the time, survived after security personnel rescued him from the mob, although he sustained serious injuries.
His survival became crucial to the investigation because he provided information about the people behind the assassination.
Police investigations subsequently established that the murder was linked to a bitter dispute over leadership of the Ndiga Clan. Investigators said Tabula had installed himself as the “legitimate” clan leader in 2021, but Bbosa declined to relinquish his position.
The dispute eventually reached Buganda’s traditional institutions. After Tabula’s supporters attempted to present him to the Buganda Kingdom parliament at Bulange-Mengo, the attempt failed. The matter was later taken to the Kisekwa traditional court, which ruled in Tabula’s favour.
Bbosa, however, appealed to Kabaka Ronald Mwenda Mutebi II, the final authority on clan matters. The appeal had not been resolved when Bbosa was killed.
Evidence linking Tabula to murder
According to the investigations, Tabula allegedly moved from the leadership dispute to plotting Bbosa’s elimination. Police said planning meetings had been held from late 2023 and that Tabula provided the firearm used in the killing.
Investigators also established communication between the alleged mastermind and the attackers.
The case against Lugya was strengthened by his own account of the operation. Police said call records showed communication between the suspected killers and people linked to the plot before and around the time Bbosa was killed.
Investigators also scrutinised the role of Milly Naluwenda, a clerk in the Buganda Kingdom’s traditional court, whom police accused of working with Tabula to facilitate the hiring of the killers.
Police said Naluwenda had been in frequent contact with Sserunkuma and Lugya for two days before the assassination, including during the period when Bbosa was attacked.
Why the death sentence
The gravity of the offence lay not only in Bbosa’s death but in the evidence of premeditation, planning, procurement of a murder weapon and the deliberate hiring of assailants to execute the victim.
The prosecution’s case established that the killing was not a spontaneous confrontation. The attackers allegedly tracked Bbosa, intercepted him close to his residence and shot him at close range before attempting to escape.
By pleading guilty to the murder, Tabula and Lugya accepted responsibility for the offence, while the evidence presented to court demonstrated the deliberate nature of the crime.
The death sentence therefore reflected the court’s finding that Bbosa’s killing was a calculated and exceptionally grave offence.
The murder shocked Buganda, particularly because it was connected to a dispute over traditional leadership. Bbosa was buried at the Ndiga clan ancestral site at Mbaale-Mawokota, where Tabula had previously installed himself as clan leader.
Following Bbosa’s death, Eria Luggya Lwasi Buzaabo was installed as his successor.
Although the two convicts have now been sentenced, the wider investigation into those who allegedly participated in planning and facilitating the murder remains significant. Police had earlier said several suspects were still at large and that the search for all persons responsible for the assassination would continue.
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