The decision by a suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel to rent a room near a church helped him elude capture for three years until his arrest this week in an intelligence-led operation in Busia District, security officials have said.
Suleiman Nsubuga, who is also alleged to have masterminded the 2021 bomb attacks in Kampala, was tracked and arrested at a small house he rented, which shares a compound with Butote Catholic Church in Buduma Village, Masafu Town Council.
Nsubuga was arrested with his wife by heavily armed security operatives from the Defence Intelligence and Security (DIS), formally Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).
A security source said Nsubuga has been on their radar over the bombings in Kampala.
“He knew the church was the best place from where he would continue carrying out his illegal activities without being suspected and that is why for all this period, he had been comfortable,” the security told Monitor on Wednesday.
Nsubuga was arrested from a small two-roomed house, next to a makeshift structure in which he reared a few goats and chicken, and also worked as his kitchen.
Defence Public Information Officer, Brig Felix Kulaigye, said Nsubuga was arrested and a gun with live ammunition recovered.
“It is true arrested a senior ADF commander in Busia District. He is in Kampala being interviewed by our officers over criminal activities,” Brig Kulaigye said.
He, however, declined to divulge details on how a person he described as “one of the most sought after ADF commanders” was arrested.
The suspect was on the list of suspected terrorists who reportedly carried out the 2021 Kampala twin bombing that claimed four lives and injured about 39 people.
In the attacks, suspected suicide bombers first detonated Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) at Central Police Station in Kampala, killing two people and injuring scores, among them policemen.
Minutes later, suicide bombers riding on a motorcycle detonated another device along Parliamentary Avenue, killing two others, and inflicting serious injuries on several others.
Police fire brigade, Redcross and volunteers put out fire after a bomb explosion on Parliament Avenue in Kampala on November 16, 2021. PHOTO/DAVIDLUBOWA
The Islamic State operating in North Kivu in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is said to have links with the ADF, claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Following the attacks, security swung into action, killing some of the said planners, and arrested scores who were remanded.
Buduma Village LC1 chairman, John Barasa, said the suspect came to rent in the area in 2022 without any identification documents.
“He came with a land sale agreement which he wanted me to certify, after which he bought land from one of the residents. But when I asked for his identification, he said he had none,” said Barasa.
Buduma Village resident Emmanuel Wanyama said Nsubuga came to the village from Dabani and Masafu trading centers, where he had rented a house.
According to Wanyama, no resident knew the suspects name for the two years he stayed in Buduma Village.
Wanyama said they have only been referring to Nsubuga as Tata Abdu (Abdu’s father),
“We were surprised to see him arrested and a gun recovered from his house,” he added.
Henry Wanyama, another resident, described Nsubuga as a “humble person who hardly passed anyone without greeting.”
“He wore a hat that covered his entire face all the time and spent all day tilling his one-acre piece of land he bought from a resident,” he observed.
From the garden, Wanyama says, Nsubuga spent time on social media- and making private calls under one of the trees in the church compound.
David Ojambo, also a resident, claimed that Nsubuga had long disguised as a 70-year-old man. Security information suggests he is in his 40s.
‘Shs1.5m daily airtime’
Authorities privy to investigations in the matter say Nsubuga escaped Kampala after he realized he was sought after by security forces over the bombing in Uganda’s capital. Apparently, he first rented a room in Dabani Sub-county on the outskirts of Busia Town, per security details revealed to Monitor by our source.
The source says he later moved to Masafu Town Council where he rented a room, before later relocating to Butote Trading Center where he was arrested.
Before his arrest, security first detained two mobile money agents at Masafu Town Council, from whom the suspect allegedly transacted millions of Ugandan shillings on almost a daily basis, including reportedly sending cash or data to beneficiaries in Eastern DR Congo.
“He has been loading data worth over Shs1.5million on a daily basis, which he would use and have the rest deposited on his accomplices’ accounts in Eastern DR Congo,” the security source said.
The source added that while in Busia District, Nsubuga coordinated ADF rebel activities including recruitment and handling logistics along the border.
Following his arrest, Nsubuga was first taken to Busia Central Police Station and later transferred to Kampala by DIS operatives.
His arrest comes weeks after two youth from Busia District were arrested in Arua District while reportedly crossing to DR Congo to join ADF militants.
Additionally, the capture also follows repeated incidents of boda-boda rider murders, shooting of a businessman dead and burning of two schools in violent attacks security gatherings linked to ADF.
