LYANTONDE. Police have launched an inquest into allegations that former Sembabule District Police Commander, Dennis Musinguzi and his brother Stephen Owamazima stole 175 cows by from a businessman Tom Omara .
According to Mr Twaha Kasirye , the southern regional police spokesman , Mr Omara ,a born of Lira District and currently working in Rwanda, lodged a case at Lyantonde Police Station under SD Ref: 33/17/02/2025 against the duo who allegedly stole the cows from a farm on Ranch No 5 at Rwamakuru Village, Lyakajura Sub County in Lyantonde District.
In his petition dated February,26 2025, Mr Omara explained that in 2009 while in Rwanda, he met Owamazima with whom they developed a close bond and set up several joint businesses including Brand Revolution, Optimum Technologies, and Jungle Safaris and later in 2016, the latter interested Omara to also jointly do cattle farming.
‘’In 2016, Stephen Owamazima invited me to his village in Lyantonde District with a view to interest me in cattle farming. During this visit, I also met his brother, SP Musinguzi Dennis and other family members. Owamazima took me around one farm where he demonstrated the potential of cattle-farming adventure that we could jointly invest in. I was impressed with the idea and I promised to take it up when we returned to Kigali, ’’ Omara explained.
Omara also said, while in Kigali, Owamazima assured him that his brother, SP Musinguzi Dennis, the then District Police Commander (DPC) of Sembabule District had identified a willing seller of cattle in Sembabule District and therefore requested him to mobilize funds to buy the cattle.
He adds in the petition that in April 2017, they both traveled from Kigali to Sembabule District and purchased cattle upon SP Musinguzi (then DPC Sembabule district) identifying the seller, Dan Mwesigye.
‘’After discussions with Dan Mwesigye, we jointly bought 50 head of cattle (39 mature cows, 1 bull and 10 heifers) at Shs 56,000,000 (Fifty-six million shillings only) and signed a sales agreement. This agreement was witnessed by residents including Livingstone Mugume, Moses Ninsiima and SP Dennis Musinguzi,” he said
Omara said after finalizing the transaction, the moved the cattle from Mwesigye’s farm to the rented land of Mzee Kalibbala in Byasika village, Sembabule District. They thereafter bought farm requirements- medicine, pumps, salt and the herdsman’s rations before leaving for Kigali, Rwanda.
The cattle was left in the care of the herdsman, Enos Kayesu who was also Dan Mwesigye’s herdsman, under the supervision of DPC Dennis Musinguzi.
Omara said they have on several occasions been travelling to Sembabule to see the cows ,but later in June 2017, he discovered a second herdsman, Nuwabiine, a relative to SP Musinguzi, had been brought to the farm.
In January 2018, he made another visit to the farm alongside Owamazima and the herd, previously 50 had grown to over 80 head of cattle. ‘’During that time, Owamazima convinced me to shift the cattle to their home in Rwamakuru, Lyantonde District since his brother, SP Musinguzi Dennis had been transferred and that leaving the cattle in Sembabule would no longer be safe,’’ Omara said.
Omara said that later in April 2018, while in Rwanda with Owamazima, SP Musinguzi together with two herdsmen, Enos Kayesu and Nuwabiine shifted 88 head of cattle (72 mature and 16 young ones) from Sembabule and took them to Rwamakuru Village on Ranch No.5 which neighbours the home of SP Musinguzi in Lyantonde District.
‘’Since I had trust in Owamazima and SP Musinguzi to take good care of my cattle, in 2019, 3 head of cattle were sold and the money sent to me via mobile money by Musolini Fred (the overall caretaker at the farm). This was the only proceeds I have gotten from this project to date’’ he said.
Omara also explained that in December 2021, Owamazima relocated to Uganda to settle permanently and he was now based at the farm. He said that in May 2022, he visited the farm alongside a friend, Brian Kakonge and Owamazima took them around the farm and observed that the herd had now surpassed 270 cows .
But later in 2021, it became difficult to visit the farm due to Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, there was a long drought and I continued to make off-pocket contributions to handle farm expenses like water, bull and vaccines and continued to receive updates on the farm via WhatsApp.
‘’To my surprise, the composition of the herd was made up of only local cattle. Owamazima then explained to me that all the mixed breeds and the borans were transferred to the nearby farm at their home since they could not manage walking long distances in search of water, ’’ Omara said.
Later in late 2023, Omara learnt of a dispute on Ranch No.5 and he arranged a visit to the farm in September 2024 with the aim of shifting his cattle to another piece of land he had secured in Chawente Village in Kwania District. ‘’With prior arrangements to go to the farm with Owamazima, unfortunately he dodged to accompany me. Instead, I visited the farm with my friends Bonny Odurluru and Allan Elwange’’ Omara said, adding that he did a physical head count and there were 350 head of cattle as they did spraying of the cows and later he went back to Lira.
‘’While in Lira, I called Owamazima asking him to allow me to pick my share of the animals which stood at 175 , but Owamazima refused saying that all my cows died in Sembabule and the cattle in Lyantonde belong to his family members,”
Omara said then on Monday, February 17 ,2025, he reported the case at Lyantonde Police Station under SD Ref: 33/17/02/2025. He then mobilized 7 trucks and two boys and proceeded to the farm to pick the cattle, but by the time they reached where the cattle was grazing , they found a group of people with machetes and “nkoni” (herding sticks) ready to cause harm to him. ‘’ When I sensed danger , we retreated in order to avoid any bloodshed’’ he said, adding that 90 head of cattle were removed from his herd on Tuesday February 18,2025 and taken to an unknown location.
When contacted, Livingstone Mugume and Moses Ninsiima confirmed signing the agreement as witnesses when Omara bought 50 head of cattle from Dan Mwesigye and took them to the rented farm land of Mzee Kalibbala in Byasika Village, Sembabule District.
But SP Musinguzi has distanced himself from signing the agreement saying he does not know any cattle belonging to Omara. However, Owamazima said he knows Omara as a friend who he worked together in Rwanda and engaged in cattle farming ,but all the latter’s cows died in Sembabule and he has no cattle on Ranch No 5 at Rwamakuru Village in Lyantonde District.
Omara said he has tried all efforts to get his cows in vain and he wants the Inspector General of Police to help him. ‘’I humbly request your kind intervention to rein in SP Musinguzi Dennis and his brother Owamazima so that I can be able to get justice and recover my cattle’’ he explained