Authorities in Luwero town have detained a businessman on charges of allegedly paying a soldier from the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) to kill his business rival.
Swaibu Semanda, the owner of Extreme General Hardware, purportedly engaged a soldier to assassinate his neighbor and competitor, Moses Kizito of MK Hardware, situated in the Kasana trading center along the Kampala-Gulu highway.
Barbrah Sonko, Kizito's wife, noted that a few days ago, a soldier approached her husband, informing him that he had been contracted to eliminate him for a sum of 30 million Shillings. Sonko disclosed that the soldier promptly notified the police about the planned attack, leading to a joint operation to apprehend the perpetrator by arranging a deposit for the intended crime.
On Thursday night, police officers and a UPDF soldier sent a staged photograph of Kizito appearing handcuffed, as a ruse to entice him to transfer two million Shillings to the soldier before his supposed demise. Kizito was arrested that same night after dispatching George William Kasule, a former crime preventer, to deliver the payment.
Semanda and Kizito were once close friends but their relationship soured after the latter opened a hardware shop adjacent to Semanda's. Sources indicate that the two businessmen have been engaged in a seven-year-long rivalry.
The Luwero District Police Commander, Living Twazagye, confirmed that Semanda and two others are detained at Kasana Police Station, where they are providing statements. Twazagye stated that the police have charged them with conspiracy to commit murder and that they will be presented before the magistrate's court once investigations are concluded.
