Self-styled vlogger Ibrahim Tusubira alias Isma Olaxes, also popularly known as Jaja Iculi and president of Ugandan bloggers was on Saturday night shot dead.
Isma is said to have been attacked by an unknown gunman in Kyanja central zone, at around 9:20pm.
The motive for his killing is not yet known.
However, according to a source in Kyanja, Isma was shot while waiting for the gate to his compound to be opened. He was in the company of his driver identified as Mathias Wasswa who seems to have escaped unhurt.
Most recently, Isma Olaxes produced a video where he was celebrating the death of Minister Charles Okello Engola, accusing him of failure to look after his workers including his shooter and bodyguard, Private Wilson Sabiiti.
The body of Isma was on Sunday laid to rest at his ancestral grounds in Katwe, Nkonkojeru-Mukono district.
Being a close friend to several entertainers, politicians and dignitaries, Jajja Iculi’s final send-off pooled several of them in various sectors of the country to escort one of their own as well as grief with the family of the former Swedish-based painter.
But who was Tusubira aka Olaxess in the public eye?
Little was known about Olaxess until the run up to the 2021 polls when a video went viral in which he captured many people’s minds with savagely violent remarks targeting opposition supporters.
At the time, the Ugandan returnee from Sweden launched himself into electoral campaigns, identifying with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.
Onwards, he classified himself with hundreds of local celebrities, musicians, and high-profile politicians including President Museveni and Parliament Speaker Anita Among, per his social media posts.
Once elections were finished, his close friends repeatedly say, the self-made kingmaker lifeist would now turn focus to capitalizing on Uganda’s more than 14 million netizens.
As his social media eminence grew, Olaxess christened himself many names in addition to using his influence to throw offensives at those who risked tampering his view or condemn his beliefs- and those he backed.
“I am Jajja Iculi the cash crop, the elected loud and clear president of Uganda Bloggers Association,” Olaxess often vaunted as he introduced himself through his daily nearly 2-hour-long mega-sensation live vlogs to his over 170, 000 “beloved Facebook followers” starting at 7am.
“We groomed him as any child but he chose that path. He’d say whatever he liked regardless of who it made happy or sad but it was like his job,” Cate Namakula, an adult resident of Zzana where Olaxess spent his childhood and studied primary at St John school observed on Sunday.
Popular Dembe FM radio host Jacob Omutuuze aka Jacob Kyaligonza Akugizibwe viewed that “what Olaxess was doing was mostly about hustling.”
But opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine portrayed his fierce critic Olaxess as part of regime apologists as he sent admonitions that “let the dead teach the living.”
“Whenever we complain about armed regime operatives dressed in civilian clothes causing mayhem, abducting or even killing our people, the same regime apologists say we’re politicizing things,” Bobi Wine highlighted in an early Sunday tweet.
Abdul Omudiribada who claimed to have worked with Olaxess in Sweden told reporters that he was “mourning a very kind affectionate man.”
However, famed cartoonist Jim Spire Ssentongo and exiled Ugandan novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija differ in opinion.
“He celebrated the killing and torture of others. I still want to think that he was a hungry man not so reflective on how far the search for ‘food’ should go. It’s not easy to grieve him, but I do,” Ssentongo said.
“Since I had never responded to your mocking balderdash when you lived, may you apologize to my Mpororo ancestors when you meet them in your next life,” Kakwenza wote.
A self-proclaimed painter and influence peddler, Olaxess was a childless freestyle bachelor until his life was chillingly ended, even with his age unclear but estimated to be late 40s or early 50s.
“I loved my son so much but I can’t overturn what Allah willed. I only ask Allah to pardon him for whatever went wrong,” his Tabligh (Tabliq) father [name withheld] briefly said on Sunday as Olaxess’ body left for Nkokonjeru where he was buried at about 4:30pm on May 7.
‘Remorseful for pre-election video’
Despite the fact that Olaxess’ shooting rang out “a sense of fear” amongst some government critics like self-exiled Sweden based blogger ‘Peng Peng’, Uganda Blogger’s Association deputy leader Wisdom Kaye vowed to continue with expressing unfavorable opinion.
“He always spoke without fear of contradiction. I am not going to ceasefire,” Kaye said on Sunday.
According to him, Olaxess loved his religion (Tabligh) and was a serious devotee.
“He (Olaxess) recently told me that he was remorseful about the video he made ahead of the elections,” he noted.
