The vehicle in which Banura was traveling
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The hunt for the driver accused of causing the fatal accident that claimed the life of Kikuube District LC5 Chairperson Peter Banura has ended dramatically, with police arresting the suspect in a late-night operation far from the crash scene.
The Albertine Region Police spokesperson, Julius Hakiza, confirmed that the suspect, Tom Mugabirwe, was arrested on Tuesday at around 10:30 p.m. during a coordinated security operation. Mugabirwe was tracked down in a hotel room at Hotel Valley Breeze in Moyo District, where he had reportedly been hiding since the incident.
Hakiza said the arrest followed intelligence-led efforts involving the Police Flying Squad and close coordination between security agencies in the Albertine Region and their counterparts in the West Nile sub-region. The operation effectively ended a days-long manhunt after the suspect fled the scene of the deadly crash.
Authorities have since begun arrangements to transfer Mugabirwe back to Kikuube District, where he is expected to face charges related to reckless driving and causing death.
The arrest comes barely a week after the tragic accident that occurred on April 4, 2026, along the Hoima–Fort Portal road at Butyamba Cell in Kikuube Town Council. Banura, 48, had briefly parked his official vehicle by the roadside and was speaking to a group of people when a speeding Toyota Hiace taxi rammed into them.
He sustained critical injuries and was rushed to Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police investigations later attributed the crash to speeding and reckless driving, with the driver immediately going into hiding.
Banura was laid to rest last Thursday at his ancestral home in Kikuube District, as the region continues to mourn a leader whose life was cut short in a preventable road tragedy.
In a related development, police earlier arrested 61-year-old Solomon Sabiiti, the registered owner of the vehicle involved in the accident. He was arraigned before the Hoima Chief Magistrate’s Court, presided over by George Kunihira, and charged with failing to keep proper records of his driver.
Investigators say Sabiiti told police he did not know who had been driving the vehicle at the time, prompting charges linked to negligence in managing employee records.
