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Mpuuga (owookubiri ku ddyo) ng’akwasa Sserunkuuma ssente. Ku ddyo ye Seggona. Atudde ye Nambooze.
Bya Lilian Nalubega
ABANTU okuva mu bitundu bya Buganda eby’enjawulo batandise okusonda ensimbi okudduukirira baminisita ba Kabaka n’omukungu ku kakiiko akasomesa ku by’ettaka abaali bakwatiddwa.
Ate abatuuze b’oku bayita ababiri bawaddeyo emmere, enkoko n’ebirala eri baminisita ba Kabaka Medard Sseggona ne Peter Mayiga n’omukungu Betty Nambooze.
Ku Lwokutaano abatuuze mu Ssaza ly’e Ssingo baakiise embuga ne bawaayo 800,000/- okuyamba Mmengo okufuna ensimbi ezinaakozesebwa okuwoza emisango egyagguliddwa ku baminisita.
Baakulembeddwaamu Ow’essaza Mukwenda Stanley Kijjambu n’omubaka wa Mityana South, Ssozi Kaddu Mukasa. Ensimbi baazikwasizza omwogezi wa Mmengo ow’ekiseera Matthias Mpuga eyazikwasizza sipiika wa Mmengo, Musa Sserunkuuma.
Bukedde
Published on: Thursday, 31st July, 2008Buganda officials narrate their ordeal in detention
ROBERT MWANJE & RISDEL KASASIRA
Kampala
Buganda’s Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Medard Lubega and Ms Betty Nambooze, the head of Buganda’s team that is campaigning against the proposed land reforms appeared before Nakawa Chief Magistrate Deo Nizeyimana and were released on bail after being charged with sedition.
The kingdom’s Information and Cabinet Affairs minister, Mr Charles Peter Mayiga, was released on police bond at Jinja Road Police Station the same day. The trio spoke to Saturday Monitor about their arrest and ordeal while in detention.
Betty Nambooze: I was blocked by a security operatives’ car at Spear Motors Ltd at around 10pm on my way to Mukono. I was travelling with my assistant Edwin Kibuuka, councillor Joseph Kakembo and John Feffeka, a Lukiiko member.
The abductors immediately smashed Ms Nambooze’s vehicle windscreen pulled her out through the window, dumped her in their vehicle and drove off towards Kololo.
They told me that I was the coordinator for the Allied Democratic Forces [ADF] and they wanted me to show them the people I deal with. I was then driven to Mubende on Saturday [July19] evening, a day after my arrest and during this time one of my abductors tried to strangle me as we were approaching Nateete junction.
When he tried to strangle me I screamed and another operative whom I only identified as Esther placed her hands on my mouth to stop me from crying out. I was hit on the neck several times and I’m still suffering great pain in that part of my body. They drove me to Kyenjojo where I stayed until Monday.
The cell conditions were not good at all. The place is very cold especially at night but somehow some civil police officers helped out by calling to inform my family of whereabouts. On Monday (July 20), I was taken to Lake Albert where the car I was driven in was parked at the edge of a cliff.
They kept asking me uncoordinated questions about the Kabaka. At one time they wanted to know where the Kabaka gets the money from, where I ‘purchase’ the guns I supply and why I criticise President Museveni. Of course I didn’t have any answers for those questions because none of the allegations they were making was true.
The next day (July 21) “From Lake Albert, I was driven to Bundibugyo and detained in a room, too small to allow me to stretch my legs. It was torture of the highest degree which no human being should be subjected to in these modern times.
On Wednesday, (July 21) I was driven all the way from Bundibugyo to Rwenzori and Kagadi forests. My abductors kept asking me to show them the people I coordinate with. I was later dumped at Kyenjonjo where I found Mr Sseggona Lubega ( co-accused). The next day, (July 22) while still at Kyenjojo we were freed and re-arrested.
The way these people handled us surely they didn’t respect the rule of law let alone the court orders which clearly stated that we had to be released because we had been kept in detention illegally. We were then taken to Fort Portal Police Station and later to Kampala Jinja Road Police Station before we were produced in court at Nakawa last Friday.
Peter Mayiga: I was arrested from my restaurant, ‘Ekitoobero’ on Nakasero Road at around 11pm [July18]. This was a few hours after seeing off the Kabaka of Buganda who had closed the Buganda Conference at Hotel Africana.
They arrested and blindfolded me. They surprised me when they said that I was coordinator for a certain rebel group. I was later detained at Kira Police station before being taken to the west [Kyenjojo] on Saturday.
The next day (July 20) I was taken to Kamwenge and spent the entire day driving around with my captors in a tinted vehicle. On Monday (June21) I was driven to Fort Portal where I spent the whole day in the vehicle.
I was later taken back to Kamwenge in the night and on Wednesday (July 23) and was taken to Kyenjojo. On Thursday (July 25) I was driven to Bundibugyo after we were re-arrested together with my co-accused, Ms Nambooze and Mr Lubega Sseggona.
This was however a dramatic scene because none of us expected this apart from Ms Nambooze who had hinted about it. We were freed for less than five minutes at Kyenjojo. No sooner had I hugged my wife than I was rearrested. It was a frightening moment before the eyes of our relatives and friends.
We were then driven back to Fort Portal Police Station together with Ms Nambooze and Mr Sseggona before our abductors drove us to Kampala.
I was then dumped at Jinja Road Police Station and later freed on police bond at around midday the following day (Friday). The prisoners were so friendly and I was not harassed in any physical way. The prisoners showed me respect especially when police officials briefed them about me.Medard Lubega Ssegona :
I was slapped by plain clothed security operatives who abducted me on the morning of Friday 18 at William Street. I was walking towards my car when they grabbed and dumped me into a waiting double cabin pickup truck and drove me to Central Police Station.When we reached CPS I was told to keeping looking down for almost one hour and by the time they directed me to look up, my captors had left and I could only see policemen around me.
I was then taken to Room six on the ground floor where I was ordered to hand over my wallet, phone and shoes. It seems my detention order was prepared earlier and at around mid-day, I was locked up in the police cells. I spent the night in police’s ‘Sheraton’ (guest wing) with only a blanket to cover myself.
On Saturday morning, they allowed my wife and lawyers, Erias Lukwago and Apollo Makubuya to see me. My wife had brought for me food and the lawyers requested for police bond but they said the bond was beyond them.
The police I was being charged for inciting violence, terrorism and promotion of sectarianism.At around 6pm I was handed over to a policewoman who told me to carry my toiletries and I thought I had been set free. But the policewoman instead led me to the CPS parking yard.
I was then told to get into a waiting police pickup truck and when I asked where I was being taken they told me we were going to Criminal Investigation Department head offices in Kibuli.
But when we reached Clock Tower instead of going to Kibuli they drove straight to Kibuye. When I inquired were we heading the policemen told we were picking somebody from Natete which we did. We then took the Mityana route and I was told we were traveling to Kasese to meet some people.
When we reached Kyenjojo the speeding vehicle branched off to a place I later learnt was Kamwenge District. Here I could not ask more questions because death crossed my mind. We reached Kawenge at about 1 am in the night and I was put in a cell with a mattress but I could not sleep because of cold.
On Sunday at around Mid-day a senior police officer came to my cell and asked whether I knew Allied Democratic Forces rebels. I was told that I had been moving around recruiting rebels. They asked me about places like Kagadi, Kibaale, Bundibugyo, Mpondwe, Kasese and Fort Portal. Among all the places mentioned I had only ever been to only been to Fort Portal and Kasese.
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