Friends speak out on Kawooya’s moments before arrest
Yusuf Kawooya was brutally arrested in Kampala on October 18, 2018.
What you need to know:
- The FSU commander, Mr Peter Kakonge, said the police leadership, including his immediate supervisor, CID director Grace Akullo, had all been questioned about the culprits but they do not belong to the Force.
Kampala. Friends of Democratic Party man Yusuf Kawooya, who was brutally arrested by plain-cloth security operatives on Thursday on Colville Street, Kampala, have recounted events that happened on the fateful day.
Mr Meddie Sesanga, the manager of Magic Parking that doubles as a bar on Portal Avenue where Mr Kawooya is regular, said about three plain-cloth staged inside the place perhaps studying him for some minutes.
Mr Sesanga said one of the men tried to grab him but Mr Kawooya punched him down prompting two others, who were nearby, to intervene. “Kawooya decided to run out but the men chased him up to Christ the King junction where he found others waiting for him standing near a taxi. They all wrestled him down and beat up him using gun butts, slaps and kicks,” Mr Sesanga said.
Mr Sesanga said Mr Kawooya often arrives at the place at 3pm where he always joins his peers and their discussions are often on politics.
He said they are yet to know the crimes he could have allegedly committed because they do not have any criminal records related to him.
Mr Sesanga added that Mr Kawooya is an Express FC diehard who earned a name in fighting fans of rival clubs. However, he says Mr Kawooya reacts after he has been provoked.
Mr Sulaiman Lubega, a car and property dealer, said Mr Kawooya is also known for his eviction groups because he has been severally hired to evict people from land.
“I have known him as a person who is good at mobilising youth to do jobs like evicting people. He is also own for his butchers in Kitintale but he has of recent become regular in political demonstrations. I think people hire [him] to mobilise youth to participate in peaceful demonstrations,” Mr Lubega said.
The duo say they have never heard him arrested for any criminal activity but wonder why he was arrested in that manner.
The DP spokesperson, Mr Kenneth Kakande, said: “We are yet to understand where he is being detained because police have denied the men who arrested him. We are using our sources but all signs show he is being incarcerated by safe houses owned by either ISO or CMI.”
The FSU commander, Mr Peter Kakonge, said the police leadership, including his immediate supervisor, CID director Grace Akullo, had all been questioned about the culprits but they do not belong to the Force.
