Aponye’s Driver Arrested by Police for Questioning

By Obed Kankiriho

NTUNGAMO – Police in Ntungamo District have apprehended Moses Buyiinza for questioning regarding unresolved inquiries into the circumstances leading up to the accident that tragically claimed the life of Businessman Apollo Nyegamehe, also known as Aponye.

 

According to Samson Kasasira, the spokesperson for the Rwiizi region Police, Buyiinza was arrested on Tuesday and is currently being held at Ntungamo Police Station.

 

Aponye lost his life in a devastating car collision with a stationary truck on July 6.

 

Kasasira stated that Buyiinza’s arrest is a result of lingering questions regarding the events leading up to the accident that took the life of one of Uganda’s most affluent business personalities.

 

“Buyiinza is under investigation for potential negligence causing death due to reckless driving involving city businessman Aponye,” revealed SP Samson Kasasira.

 

Kasasira further explained that the Police are awaiting guidance from the Resident State Attorney after reviewing the case file to determine the appropriate course of action.

 

“If the file is approved, he will be taken to court. However, if it is not sanctioned, he will be released on Police bond as investigations into the matter continue,” Kasasira explained.

 

Buyiinza and the late Aponye were involved in a fatal accident at Itojo, Ntungamo, along the Mbarara-Kabale road when their vehicle, registered as UBF 300Z, collided with a Fuso truck bearing the registration number UAZ 767D.

 

The truck had encountered mechanical problems and had been parked alongside the road while transporting Irish Potatoes.

 

Following the collision, Buyiinza and another victim were rushed to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital for medical treatment. Unfortunately, Aponye succumbed to his injuries at the accident scene.

 

Apollo Nyegamahe, popularly known as Aponye, was born on August 12, 1957, in Muhanga, Rukiga District, to the late Mr. Peter Turikyarukye and the late Salome Kibatenga.

 

He was the youngest of 16 children and never had the chance to meet his father, who passed away before his birth.

 

Aponye began engaging in business at the tender age of 10, taking on odd jobs and selling roasted G.Nuts, peas, and maize in Muhanga to support himself as an orphan.

 

At the age of 16, he secured a job working for renowned businessman Kirasha Jonathan, who traded merchandise with Rwandan businessmen. Aponye’s responsibility was to transport goods.

 

He eventually established his own business in Kampala and resided in Mengo, where he provided accommodation to numerous businessmen from Kabale and Kigali.

 

In 1989, he formally registered a limited company called “Aponye (U) Ltd,” derived from his own name, “Apollo Nyegamahe,” specializing in grain trading.

 

He established storage facilities at FIBA (Foods and Beverages) industrial area for grain drying and cleaning.

 

With a vision to become the leading trading company in the grain sector, he expanded his grain trading operations to markets such as the World Food Programme.

 

Aponye established a grain processing plant in Nalukolongo, Kampala, in 2005, followed by the Kyazanga Factory in 2010 and the Mubende Factory in 2015.

 

In 2008, he expanded his business to trade with the South Sudan Government in Juba, focusing on foodstuff.

 

Additionally, he ventured into real estate in Kampala, starting with Aponye Hotel, Aponye City Mall, and most recently, Aponye Complex in Ntinda.

 

Aponye will be laid to rest today, Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at his ancestral home in Kitaburaza Village, Muhanga Town Council in Rukiga District.