We shall pick you, police tell Lt Gen Tumukunde

The Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) has said they will arrest presidential aspirant, Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde, for defying police summons over allegations that he has been meeting the army veterans for subversion.

The CID spokesperson, Mr Charles Twiine, said yesterday that they would use ‘lawful’ means to arrest or make him record a statement over the alleged subversive activities.

Mr Twiine’s remarks came after Gen Tumukunde declined to heed summons by the director of criminal investigations, Ms Grace Akullo, twice.
In the summons issued last week on Tuesday, Gen Tumukunde was instructed to report to CID “in person” to respond to allegations that he had convened meetings with army veterans.

After failing to appear last week on Wednesday, his lawyers and police agreed that he would be allowed to appear yesterday but did not.
It is to this end that police promised that other means would be evoked to produce Gen Tumukunde at CID headquarters in Kibuli, a Kampala suburb.

“The position of Uganda Police is that by the close of the day (yesterday), we expect Gen Tumukunde to appear. If he does not, police have to use other lawful options of how we can get him here (Kibuli),” Mr Twiine told Daily Monitor.
He added: “I can assure you that Gen (Tumukunde) will record a statement or at least it will be on record that he has been at police and he refused to make a statement.”

When asked on the options he meant, Mr Twiine said: “there are so many lawful options including arrest.”
The former intelligence chief was represented by his lawyers who, according to Mr Twiine, did not sufficiently respond to the questions raised in the said allegations.

“He (Gen Tumukunde) has now purportedly sent people who we think may be masquerading as lawyers. We know some of them but we cannot ably establish whether they have been duly sent by him,” Mr Twine said.

Last week, Gen Tumukunde was arrested in Buikwe District for allegedly flouting the Ministry of Health standard operating procedures (SOP) on social distancing and was later released.
In his response to the Buikwe arrest, Mr Twiine said investigations are still underway and would not divulge any details.

When contacted on the matter, the chairperson of Gen Tumukunde’s campaign team, Mr Omar Kalinge-Nyago said: “It is unfortunate that it is happening this way but we shall put everything in the hands of the legal team.”
In an interview with the Daily Monitor, Gen Tumukunde’s lawyer, Mr Friday Roberts Kagoro from the Muwema and Company Advocates said they had advised their client not to heed police instructions claiming that the summons were unclear.

Mr Kagoro accuses police of witch-hunting Gen Tumukunde as he tries to popularise his candidature among Ugandans ahead of next year’s General Election.
“It (police) is stopping him wherever he goes and I think it is because of the capacity he has in his political race,” Mr Kagoro said.

Premising on the above reasons, the lawyers indicated they had authored a letter to the director Criminal Investigations, to show why their client had not honoured the summons.
In the letter seen by the Daily Monitor, the lawyers accuse police of having “questionable” motives since the Chief of Defence Forces was copied in the summons issued to Gen Tumukunde.

“The police’s conduct of involving the army in civilian affairs is questionable and highly suspect,” the letter reads in part.
Mr Francis Harimwomugasho, another lawyer on Tumukunde’s side revealed they would write to the Electoral Commission on the matter.

BACKGROUND
The former Security minister is currently facing charges of illegal possession of firearms and treason placed on him after he was arrested in March this year in his office in Kololo, Kampala. The arrest came after he announced that he would take on his former bush war comrade, President Museveni, in next year’s polls.
Gen Tumukunde has since announced that he would contest as an independent candidate under his “Renewed Uganda” platform that he launched on August 12 and promised to embark on canvassing for support.

However, after his first meeting with some of his supporters last week in Buikwe District, Gen Tumukunde was arrested at Naminya village, detained and later released without charge.
His release was followed by summons to respond to allegations that he had convened meetings with army veterans.

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