Listen to Tinye, says Tumwine

The UPDF presentative in Parliament, Gen Elly Tumwine, says Gen David Sejusa should be given chance to defend himself. He says the army has the capacity to handle the case professionally. Photo by Nelson Wesonga

What you need to know:

According to the Monitor Lawyer, Mr James Nangwala, two of the journalists will re-appear today at 11am as directed by Mr Simon Kuteesa under the Media Crime Desk.

Gen Elly Tumwine has added his voice in the ongoing Gen David Sejusa saga, saying the outspoken General deserves a fair hearing.

Speaking to journalists at Parliament on Tuesday, Gen Tumwine said the army cannot ascertain what appeared in the media about the letter authored by the General if they do not hear his side of the story.

In his letter, Gen Sejusa, formerly known as Tinyefuza, calls for investigations on claims that top officials, including the police chief, may have plotted to either assassinate, or frame government officials opposed to the “Muhoozi Project” .

The Presidential adviser on defence matters, Gen Salim Saleh, had said if it was true that the letter was authored by Gen Sejusa, then the Intelligence Services Coordinator should apologise.

However, Gen Tumwine says no action should be taken if there is no evidence, if the concerned parties have not heard what Gen Sejusa has to say.

Gen Tumwine, who spoke to NTV, a sister company of the Daily Monitor, said in a mixture of English and Luganda that: “All those if’s are still not clear until he comes back and we understand and investigate properly …that is when we will have all the answers. You cannot judge a case before you listen to it. I learnt when I was in the General Court Martial that tosala gwa kawala nga towuliriza gwa kalenzi.”

He added, “So it is always important to hear all sides and then you make a judgment. I don’t like rushing at things and making them exaggerated out of context. [You wait] when it shall be handled professionally by the UPDF (Uganda People Defence Forces).”

Journalists summoned
Meanwhile, detectives at the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Directorate (CIID) yesterday ordered two Daily Monitor journalists to re-appear at CIID headquarters in Kibuli today (Thursday) after three hours of waiting for the next cause of action in vain.

Another of the two journalists, who were on Tuesday charged with refusal to cooperate and divulge information, was cleared to travel out of the country on official duties.

According to the Monitor Lawyer, Mr James Nangwala, two of the journalists will re-appear today at 11am as directed by Mr Simon Kuteesa under the Media Crime Desk.

“They had called us to appear and we did, but after hours of waiting we have been directed to appear tomorrow (Thursday),” Mr Nangwala said.

The trio who include, Mr Don Wanyama, the Managing Editor and reporters Risdel Kasasira and Richard Wanambwa, are being investigated in relation to an article that ran in the Monitor last week revealing details of a letter by Gen Sejusa.