When asked about the detention of the officers, AIGP Ochaya requested more time to investigate the matter, saying it was not possible for him to know about every arrest carried out.
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Several police officers who previously served on the security detail of former presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu have reportedly been arrested and are currently in detention, Parliament has been told.
The officers, who were deployed to guard Kyagulanyi, who was the National Unity Platform’s (NUP) flagbearer during the recently concluded general election, were arrested about six weeks after the polls ended.
While addressing the media, the spokesperson of the Uganda Police Force, Rusoke Kituuma, said he had also learned about the arrests during a session of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament.
The committee was on Tuesday chaired by Mawogola South Member of Parliament, Gorreth Namugga who is its deputy chairperson.
“I am going to first consult my superiors who are responsible for the day-to-day affairs of these officers to brief me on the matter before updating the general public about their status,” Kituuma said.
Members of the PAC asked police officials to explain the circumstances surrounding the officers’ arrests and why they had not yet received their salaries despite completing their assignment during the election period.
The Director of the Uganda Police Force’s Counterterrorism, David Wasswa Ssengendo, told the committee that although the officers fall under his directorate, the responsibility for their payment lies with the Electoral Commission.
Ssengendo appeared before the committee together with the Assistant Inspector General of Police, James Ochaya, and other police officials.
When asked about the detention of the officers, AIGP Ochaya requested more time to investigate the matter, saying it was not possible for him to know about every arrest carried out.
However, Deputy Committee Chairperson Namugga urged him to immediately make inquiries and report back to the committee. Ochaya declined, saying it was not possible to do so at that moment.
Namugga also asked Budadiri East Member of Parliament and former presidential candidate Nathan Nandala Mafabi whether his own security detail had been paid. Mafabi said he was not aware, noting that the election period had ended and his relationship with the officers assigned to him had also concluded.
The committee insisted that Ochaya should submit a report on the matter as soon as possible.
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Circumstances of the Arrest
According to reports, the officers were initially summoned to the headquarters of the VIP Police Protection Unit in Nsambya, where they were questioned about several issues related to their deployment.
Due to the fact that some of the officers on Kyagulanyi’s security detail were not present, they were instructed to report the following morning. They were later directed to police headquarters in Naguru, where they were arrested and detained in police cells near the railway line.
Before being transferred to Naguru, the officers reportedly recorded statements about their assignment, which had been issued by the Electoral Commission to provide security for Kyagulanyi during the presidential campaign period.
Those reportedly arrested include their commander Jonan Abangira, his deputy Osike, Josh Kigenyi, Moses Luwisi, Sula Sizoomu, John Jeff Akodan, and others.
During the election period, the Electoral Commission assigned eight counterterrorism officers, including a driver, to each presidential candidate for security.
The Electoral Commission spokesperson, Julius Mucunguzi, recently said the commission had not yet received any formal complaint from Kyagulanyi’s security team regarding unpaid allowances through their supervising officers.
On whether police had opened any charges against Kyagulanyi, Kituuma said the force had not instituted any criminal case against him.
