What we know so far about Jinja businessman shot dead at weekend

A Jinja-based businessman, who was at the weekend shot dead by unknown assailants travelling on a motorcycle, was at the centre of a 900-acre family land wrangle belonging to the estate of the late Hajji Sulaiman Malole, located at Kituba Village, Kisozi Sub-county, Kamuli District, this publication has learnt.

Mr Shaban Malole, a resident of Buwera East, Buwenge Rural Sub-county in Jinja District, who is one of Hajji Malole’s children, was on Saturday night fatally shot by unidentified assailants traveling on a motorcycle.

The Kiira region Police Spokesperson, Mr James Mubi, said: “At around 8pm on Saturday, the deceased was attacked at his home, shot at by unidentified gunmen who were reportedly traveling on motorcycle and died on the spot.”

According to Mr Mubi, a manhunt for the assailants is underway to have them arrested and prosecuted.

“The Divisional Police Commander and his technical team immediately visited the scene, and it has been revisited this [Sunday] morning to establish facts on grounds that could lead to possible arrest and prosecution of the culprits,’’ Mr Mubi said.

He added that seven spent slugs and two live bullets were recovered at the scene.

Motive

Mr Mubi said the motive of the murder is not yet fully established, although police are also probing allegations that the late Hajji Malole’s children have been embroiled in a dispute over their father’s assets.

Last week, a Cabinet minister was accused of backing some children of the late Hajji Malole to lease the land in Kituba Village to an investor for 40 years to construct a sugar factory.

The late Malole, who passed away in 2006, also reportedly left 800 acres of land at Nakyaka Village, Mbulamuti Sub-county and 30 more acres at Luzinga Village, Wankole Sub-county, both in Kamuli district.

The minister is allegedly conniving with three of the deceased’s sixteen children, including Ms Zamina Malole, a former member of the Equal Opportunities Commission who currently works in the Minister for Presidency’s office. Other alleged co-conspirators are Mr Juma Waira and the deceased.

Mr Ismail Malole, one of the children, said: “We shall not accept a person who is not a member of the family to take our land. The Minister has no connection to our family except being a friend to one of our sisters.’’

According to Mr Malole, his father reportedly bequeathed 15 percent of his assets to his younger brother, the late Badru Malole, with whom he had formed a company, and wants the President’s Office to intervene in the land wrangle.

Ms Zabia Malole, one of late Badru Malole’s children, said one of her brothers [Issa Malole] has been arrested several times because of his resolve to follow-up on the matter.

Ms Saidah Malole, another member of the late Badru Malole’s family, said the three other children have banned them from utilising the land, yet they are part of the tight-knit family.

In his May 10, 2022 letter, the Kamuli chief administrative officer, Mr Cornelius Kalema, requests the Office of the Administrator General to re-intervene and create peace and justice in the Hajji Malole family.

“The Office received a letter from you dated April 18, 2013, requesting that we sit with the family; however, on June 4, 2013, I referred some of the dissatisfied children to you for guidance. Despite our efforts to intervene and refer to you again and again, the family keeps on coming to us,’’ the letter reads in part.

In the letter, Mr Kalema describes the family as “polygamous characterised by divisions and inconclusive family leadership”.

Mr Kalema’s letter adds: “The two children - Zamina and Waira - have never consented to the decision made in the previous meetings, even to the recent dialogue held on October 8, 2020, in the Resident District Commissioner’s boardroom.”