Ziggy Wine died of motor accident injuries, says Police

The Uganda Police has said that Micheal Kalinda was neither kidnapped nor tortured as being alleged by a section of the general public.

Commonly known as Ziggy Wine, the artiste and People Power activist died on Sunday from Mulago Hospital.

Following his death, Police tasked a team of detectives from the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) to investigate the kidnap and his subsequent death. He had bruises and could hardly recognize anybody by the time he was discovered at Mulago hospital, where he had been alleged dumped by his captors.

Now, the force has said that Ziggy Wine succumbed to wounds he sustained from a motor accident.

In a press conference held at Central Police Station (CPS) on Tuesday in Kampala, the Police Spokesman Fred Enanga told journalists that on the 21st of July 2019 at around 7:30 pm, a speeding motorcycle Honda type heading in the direction of Kyebando knocked a lady and a gentleman.

“The gentleman who was badly injured (crushed his head on the right-hand side of the motorcycle) neither had identification nor phone with him. He was later identified as Michael Kalinda or commonly known as Ziggy Wine,” said Enanga.

Enanga also refuted the rumours that Ziggy Wine was dumped at Mulago hospital instead he said that the deceased’s relatives first admitted him at Rubaga Hospital and later as the situation worsened he was brought to Mulago hospital where he died from.

“However we managed to retrieve the motorcycle that caused the accident but the number plate had gone off as well as a few other parts. The number plate was later recovered. The motorcycle is with us. It has several dents on the right-hand side because this victim fell on the right-hand side,” Enanga further explained.

“There was no motive in the death of Ziggy Wine.”

While at the vigil at Ganda, Wakiso district last evening the deceased’s sister Immaculate Nalwadda said that the family last talked to Ziggy Wine on 21 July informing him about a family meeting in Bukoto and he sounded fine.

Nalwadde said, “When days went on without hearing from him and his phone was off even his associates didn’t know about his whereabouts we became suspicious eventually we found him at Mulago in a bad state.”