Detective recounts ordeal of 80 days in police detention

KAMPALA.

A police detective has narrated his ordeal after spending 80 days in detention at Kira and Nagalama police stations.
Enock Twesigye was released on June 3 on a police bond after crying out to top police authorities.

Twesigye was arrested on March 18, a day after the assassination of Assistant Inspector General of Police Andrew Felix Kaweesi, his driver and body guard outside his home in Kulambiro, a Kampala suburb, by unknown assailants.

Twesigye says he was arrested by the Police’s Professional Standards Unit (PSU) while working as Officer in Charge of Criminal Investigations at Jeza Police Station on Mityana Road but under Mpigi District police command.

“I was called by my supervisor, Assistant Inspector of Police James Adupa, who informed me that he had instructions to arrest me, a day after the assassination of AIGP Kaweesi,” he says.

“He showed me a reference from Bukoto and I had to remember that in 2013, there was a case of the murder of Wamala where I helped a police detective Patrick Segujja to arrest the prime suspect,” he adds.

Twesigye, a detective sergeant in the Police Force, came to the limelight after he participated in the arrest of Hakim Ssali, a prime suspect connected to the murder of businessman Wilberforce Wamala in 2012.

“I am good in tracking mobile phones and also investigating homicides and I think that’s why my supervisor recommended that I work with Segujja in arresting Ssali,” says Twesigye.

He says together with Segujja, they arrested Ssali in Sembabule District and was later delivered at Bukasa Police Station where he unfortunately died in custody, a few days after the suspect had confessed to participating in the killing of Wamala.
Twesigye, says he had since returned to his official duty station in Jeza until he was arrested on March 18.

Upon his arrest, Twesigye says he was initially detained at Mpigi Police Station where he met officials from the PSU.
“I was not tortured upon my arrest but all my colleagues feared for my life on hearing that I was involved in the murder of AIGP Kaweesi. At Mpigi, PSU ordered that handcuffs be removed from me,” he narrates.

He said, however, that when he was transferred to PSU Headquarters in Bukoto, Kampala, he was instead interrogated about Ssali’s death.

He was then transferred to Kira Road Police and incarcerated for two months before being taken to Nagalama Police Station in Mukono District for another two weeks.

Twesigye says it was distressful to be held for about 19hours, way beyond the constitutionally mandated 48-hour period for holding a suspect in police custody.

“I was innocently arrested and held in detention for a long period without being taken to court,” Twesigye says.
He says he was accused of having killed Ssali in police custody, a crime he denies.

Instead, Twesigye says Ssali had told him that the gang which killed Wamala and his houseboy was after his life.
“Wamala’s widow who lives in the United Kingdom, immediately started complaining after the death of Ssali. She complained about the involvement of the late AIGP Kaweesi, to both the IGP Kale Kayihura and also President Museveni,” Mr Twesigye told Daily Monitor yesterday.

He says in police custody, he slept on a cold floor without beddings apart from a few torn blankets available for suspects.
“I was sleeping poorly. There is nothing like a mattress but there are small blankets you put on the floor to prevent you from directly feeling the coldness,” he says, adding that he would feed on posho and beans like any other suspect. However, he says some friends and relatives would at times bring him food from outside when they were allowed to visit him.

Twesigye says he was released on police bond by Mr William Okalany, who is currently working with the Police Legal Directorate after failing to find a case against him.

However, Twesigye says he had earlier been informed that his release could only happen after the investigation team met Gen Kayihura, which has not happened to- date.

Not independent
He says police detectives are involved in investigating various crimes are not allowed to make independent decisions basing on the facts they gather.

“I have learnt that the police detectives are not given independence to do their work. They depend on top bosses to make decisions which make the processes bureaucratic,” he adds.
Twesigye, a father of four, says he is happy to be reunited with family but has to work out ways of returning his children to school after being in detention for a long time.

He says he will resume his duties at Mpigi Police Station.
“I was not suspended and I am going to resume work normally after a few days of rest. I have already spoken to my supervisors,” he says.
He says he has been receiving salary.

Issues at hand
Arrest. Enock Twesigye was arrested on March 18, a day after the assassination of Assistant Inspector General of Police Andrew Felix Kaweesi together with his driver and body guard outside his home in Kulambiro, a Kampala suburb, by unknown assailants.

Station. Twesigye says he was arrested by the Police’s Professional Standards Unit while working as Officer in Charge of Criminal Investigations at Jeza Police Station on Mityana Road.

Intrrrogation. He said, however, that when he was transferred to PSU Headquarters in Bukoto, Kampala, he was instead interrogated about Ssali’s death.

Transfered. He was then transferred to Kira Road Police and incarcerated for two months before being taken to Nagalama Police Station in Mukono District for another two weeks.

In custody. He says in police custody he slept on a cold floor without beddings apart from a few torn blankets available for suspects.

Released. Enock Twesigye was released on June 3 on a police bond after crying out to top police authorities.
Resuming work. Twesigye, a father of four, says he is happy to be reunited with family. He says he is ready to resume his duties at Mpigi Police Station.