MPs Ssewanyana and Ssegirinya have been remanded in custody in connection with the Masaka murders.

Muhammad Ssegirinya (Kawempe North) and Allan Ssewanyana, two opposition MPs, have been charged with four counts in connection with the deaths in the wider Masaka region.

The two MPs who were called last week to provide testimony in connection with the murders were arrested and detained at Masaka Police Station on Tuesday afternoon.

Later, the Masaka Magistrates Court charged him with four counts: three counts of murder and one act of attempted murder.

Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana, according to the prosecution lead by Richard Birivumbuka, held a series of planning meetings at Kayanja Rest House and Happy Boys in Kampala where they planned the assassinations.

According to Birivumbuka, the two MPs were involved in the August 2021 murders of Michael Nawa, Sulaiman Kakooza, and Tadeo Kiyimba of Kimanya Kabonera village.

Both MPs were remanded in Kitalya by Chief Magistrate Charles Yeteise. They are scheduled to appear in court again on September 15, 2021.

The two MPs were summoned on Monday, according to police spokesperson Fred Enanga, after some of the suspects linked them to the murder plot in meetings held in Ndeeba, a Kampala suburb.

Over 30 individuals have been slain in Masaka by machete welding gangs in the last month.

The killers’ motives are unknown, but they appear to be targeting older people.

Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana have now been added to the 23 other suspects arrested in connection with the Masaka killings.

According to Enanga, 11 of the accused have already appeared in court, while the rest are scheduled to do so.

MP Ssegirinya had been in the headlines before the police summons for his efforts to transform his Kawempe North constituency by spearheading the construction of a hospital, food help for the disadvantaged, and an ambulance to transport the needy to health care centers.