Tumukunde hospitalised after collapsing in custody

Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde is admitted to Kololo Hospital after he reportedly collapsed in police custody yesterday.

The former Security minister and retired army general was arrested with about 13 others at his office in Kololo, Kampala on Thursday night over treason charges.
Two of his sons were also arrested.

Gen Tumukunde’s lawyer, Mr Alex Luganda, yesterday declined to comment on his client’s health status, saying he needed to get permission from him.

Another lawyer, Mr Anthony Wameli, said they had not been told of Lt Gen Tumukunde’s health situation officially.

“We have also been told by different sources that he (Tumukunde) is admitted in hospital. We haven’t talked to him yet,” Mr Wameli said.
A police source said the doctors at Kololo Hospital haven’t yet revealed to them what Gen Tumukunde’s illnesses are.

Last Friday, a day after the arrest, police confirmed that they were investigating Gen Tumukunde on charges of treason.

A source claimed that Gen Tumukunde started complaining of being unwell after police carried out a search at his home in Kololo at around 10:30pm on Saturday.
The source said Gen Tumukunde’s ailment started shortly after police informed him that his two sons would face treason charges.

The source further said Gen Tumukunde told police that he was not feeling well, but they insisted on taking him to the Special Investigations Division at Kireka in Wakiso District where he reportedly collapsed.

When Daily Monitor visited Kololo Hospital last evening, entrance was restricted. No journalist or member of the public was allowed in. Police officers and other security personnel in civilian clothes controlled the hospital entrance.

However, Gen Tumukunde’s wife and a close friend were allowed to visit him.

Senior police officers including the director of Criminal Investigations, Ms Grace Akullo, the director of police health services, Dr Moses Byaruhanga, and the director of forensic services, Ms Andrew Mubiru, were at the hospital.

Mr Luganda said Gen Tumukunde’s offices in Kololo and his homes in Kololo and elsewhere remained sealed off.
The state alleges that Gen Tumukunde had a subversive scheme to instigate any person to invade Uganda with an armed force while he was being hosted on a local television. Treason attracts up to a death penalty on conviction.

However, his two sons, who were arrested on the same charges, were released. “Two of Lt Gen Tumukunde’s sons were arrested and released late evening on Saturday. Another 13 people, including the Member of Parliament for Tororo North County, Ms Annet Nyakecho, the head of Lt Gen Tumukunde’s consultative task force for his presidential bid, were detained without being told of the offence they are alleged to have committed,” Mr Luganda said.

He said if police do not produce Gen Tumukunde in court today, they will seek court redress to either release him or arraign him in court.

Mr Fred Enanga, the police spokeperson, said police were moving fast in their investigations against Lt Gen Tumukunde. He said their hope was to take the case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) today.

On the arrest of Gen Tumukunde’s aides and sons, Mr Enanga said they are all subject to investigations.
Gen Tumukunde team accuses President Museveni of persecution of anyone who aspires to stand for presidency.

Two other presidential aspirants, Dr Kizza Besigye, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine are facing treason charges.

Similar charges

Previously, Gen Tumukunde was taken to a military court and charged with prejudicial conduct after he appeared on a local radio station and opposed the move to amend the Constitution to remove presidential term limits.

In 2001, Dr Beisgye, another retired army officer, contested against President Museveni and he has since faced several criminal charges. He fled to exile in 2002.

When he returned in 2005 to contest again in the 2006 polls, he was charged with treason and rape, which the High Court later quashed as trumped-up cases.

[email protected]