Struggle for freedom will continue, says Tumukunde
Remanded. Former Security minister Henry Tumukunde is escorted by prison warders to board a prisons vehicle after appearing at City Hall Magistrate’s Court in Kampala on Wednesday. PHOTO BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Unmoved. Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde says being in prison is not bothersome as long as his struggle for free political participation in Uganda continues.
- In 2013, he was sentenced to severe reprimand by Makindye General Court Martial after being convicted for conduct prejudicial to good conduct and discipline of the army.
Presidential aspirant Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde on Wednesday declared that the struggle for freedom in Uganda will continue with or without him.
Shortly after he was remanded to Luzira prison on treason charges, the former spymaster told Daily Monitor that being in prison would not be a big deal as long as his struggle for free political participation in Uganda continues.
“…but the struggle will continue with or without me. We shall continue as long as practicing politics freely is still denied to most Ugandans,” Gen Tumukunde said at City Hall Magistrate’s Court in Kampala.
“If I am able to reinstate my health, the rest is simply secondary. This is not my first time in jail, I have spent many years there,” a feeble looking Tumukunde, who was supported by two men, added.
Incidents
In 2005, Gen Tumukunde was taken into military custody on allegations of spreading harmful propaganda as an army officer when he appeared on a local radio talk show.
In 2013, he was sentenced to severe reprimand by Makindye General Court Martial after being convicted for conduct prejudicial to good conduct and discipline of the army.
The charges had arisen from a 2005 radio talk show where he was hosted and criticised President Museveni’s long stay in power and the ruling National Resistance Movement party decision to amend the Constitution that scrapped presidential term limits.
During the Wednesday brief interview in court, the former security minister questioned the manner in which police carry out their operations.
“The police acts in a way that I don’t understand….” he lamented
The fighter in the Bush War that brought President Museveni to power in 1986, explained the possession of a gun over which he has been charged.
He said upon retirement from military service, he was given firearms as his security entitlements and it’s the same guns he has been charged with unlawful possession of.
“The Chief of Military Intelligence asked me to assemble those guns and I got them. He even wrote to that effect. Now all of a sudden, there are these charges about treason,” Gen Tumukunde said.
According to the state prosecutor, Gen Tumukunde on March 13, at Impala Avenue in Kololo, Kampala, was found in unlawful possession of a modified AK-47 rifle, a star pistol and 34 bullets without holding a valid firearms certificate.
He will be brought back to court on March 30 for hearing of charges of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunitions.
About a month ago, Gen Tumukunde announced his bid to stand for president to challenge his former Bush War comrade President Museveni in the forthcoming 2021 General Election.
He wrote to Electoral Commission about his intentions to embark on public consultations and the electoral body cleared him.
