Exclussive: Police Arrest Prime Suspect in Moses Matovu Murder

KAMPALA — Less than 24 hours after Afrigo Band leader Moses Matovu died from injuries sustained in an early-morning attack, police have named and arrested a suspect — and the emerging account reframes what initially looked like a random street assault into something far more personal.

Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Rachael Kawala confirmed the arrest of Vincent Nsamba, also known as Arnold, a 41-year-old private security guard attached to SG4. He was apprehended Thursday evening in Ochange Ward, Yesu Amara, in Nansana Division, Wakiso District, after what police described as an intensive joint manhunt involving intelligence and task force teams. The arrest closes out a chase that began within hours of Matovu’s death, after a woman identified as Rose — reportedly Nsamba’s girlfriend, or by another account his former partner — was taken into custody first and, according to the police brief, helped detectives locate him.

The sequence of events police have laid out significantly changes the picture painted in initial reporting, which described Matovu as attacked while walking to morning prayers. Instead, police say Matovu, 77, went to Rose’s home in Kibuli at around 5:30am on September 24, hours after attending a farewell function for outgoing Petroleum Authority of Uganda chief executive Ernest Rubondo at Sheraton Gardens the previous evening, alongside his Afrigo Band colleagues. As Matovu and Rose were leaving the residence, they were confronted by Nsamba, who questioned Matovu about the nature of his relationship with Rose. A physical altercation followed, in which Nsamba allegedly punched both Matovu and Rose. Matovu sustained serious injuries and began bleeding heavily; he was rushed to Kibuli Hospital by a boda boda rider identified only as Paul, but died shortly after arrival.

Kawala was notably careful in her public characterization of the incident, telling reporters that “preliminary information indicates that the incident may have resulted from a physical fight,” while stressing that “the exact circumstances surrounding the confrontation… are yet to be fully established.” That caution matters: police have a named suspect in custody, but they have not yet publicly confirmed intent, sequence of blows, or whether the assault was premeditated versus a fight that escalated in the moment. One detail from the police brief adds real weight to how this may ultimately be charged: Rose was reportedly heard telling Nsamba to flee because he could face arrest if Matovu died from the assault — a statement, if confirmed, that suggests those present understood in real time how serious Matovu’s injuries were, well before his death was confirmed at the hospital.

What’s largely absent from the reporting so far is any account from Nsamba himself, or confirmation of what specifically triggered the confrontation beyond a dispute over Rose. Whether Nsamba and Rose were still together, recently separated, or in some other configuration when Matovu arrived at the home remains inconsistently described — one account frames Nsamba as her current boyfriend, another as someone “formerly in a relationship with the same lady.” That ambiguity is exactly the kind of detail a formal charge sheet, once filed, should resolve, and it will likely shape whether prosecutors frame this as a targeted attack or a fatal escalation of an unrelated domestic dispute.

The case has struck a nerve well beyond the immediate circumstances of Matovu’s death. As Afrigo Band’s founding leader and a mentor to younger Ugandan musicians for nearly five decades, his killing — coming hours after what should have been a routine industry social function — has visibly shaken Uganda’s music community, with tributes and condolence messages continuing to circulate publicly since the arrest was announced.

Police say the case has been registered at Kabalagala Police Station under file number CRB 1072/2026, and that forensic teams and detectives are continuing work to establish the full circumstances before the matter proceeds toward formal charges.