‘Charge Muzoora suspects with treason’- Tinyefuza

Kampala

The Coordinator of Intelligence and Security Agencies, Gen. David Tinyefuza, has said if credible evidence is found against the people arrested in the ongoing investigations about the death of Col. Edison Muzoora, they stand to be charged with treason.

Gen. Tinyefuza, who called this newspaper to his office on Friday night, said what is more disturbing is the way those who have been arrested are not willing to cooperate with security in their investigations and said this could be done to protect a high profiled opposition politician.
“The issue of interest is why are those old people like (William)Mukaira, his wife, including doctors and other people whom I will not talk about now all willing to hide such a dangerous thing of a rebel dying in their house?” Gen. Tinyefuza asked.

Whats the motive?
“Could this be a measure to protect some high value targets who could be implicated? Are they trying to confuse security by breaking the chain of evidence?” Last week, security agencies arrested Bushenyi District FDC chairman William Mukaira and Dr Aggrey Byamaka, an FDC official in Mbarara, over the death of Muzoora.

Assistant Inspector General of Police Asan Kasingye confirmed the arrest of Mr Abel Kacwano, a former suspected member of the shadowy People’s Redemption Army (PRA) rebel group, Mr Obed Musinguzi alias Ssebagala, a former FDC candidate in the Bushenyi local council elections, and Grace Twinomujuni, a nurse at Valley College Bushenyi, which is owned by Mr Mukaira. Apart from the nurse, who has been released without charge, the rest are still in police custody allegedly for having played part in Muzoora’s death.

Gen. Tinyefuza who said the act of hiding a rebel is an indication of “collaboration” also wondered what those arrested were doing with a rebel in their midst. “Instead of asking whether they killed their fellow rebel, they should be charged with treason as the question of death is secondary,” he said. Gen. Tinyefuza said on the eve of dumping Col. Muzoora’s body at his home in Bushenyi District, some high profile opposition politicians, whom he did not name for security reasons, left the country.

He wondered whether this was coincidence or it was a preplanned arrangement to confuse security.
He ruled out government involvement in the death but said Col. Muzoora was on his way home having held talks with the government. He promised to get to the bottom of the matter, saying even if it required the assistance of a pathologist and carrying out DNA tests, government would do so.

“Who had the intention and motive to kill Muzoora? Muzoora was about to be pardoned by the state and there is no doubt that may be he had said a few things to government which made his masters unhappy,” he said. He said government was investigating to established three things: who killed Muzoora, where was he killed from and whether the person who died was actually Col. Muzoora. He said without the above it was difficult to establish that the person buried was Col. Muzoora. On May 27, Col. Muzoora’s body was dumped at his country home in Kyabugimbi Sub-county in Bushenyi.

None charged
Although several theories have emerged to explain his suspicious death, nobody has been charged. Gen. Tinyefuza refused to give details of a neighbouring country being implicated in the saga but said information obtained indicates that Col Muzoora had travel documents on him that link him to this country.

Speaking for the first time about Rtd. Col. Kizza Besigye in connection to Muzoora’s death, Gen. Tinyefuza said, the FDC leader had declared an armed struggle against the government. Gen. Tinyefuza alleged that Col. Muzoora deserted the UPDF and together with other renegade officers; Col. Anthony Kyakabale and Samson Mandy under the leadership of Col. Besigye declared war on Uganda and PRA was formed.