Lawyers fail to trace Rwomushana after he was arrested over Aine picture

Charles Rwomushana

The whereabouts of Mr Charles Rwomushana, a former intelligence operative with the Internal Security Organisation, remain unknown after his friends and lawyers failed to trace him in any of the police facilities in Kampala.

Mr Rwomushana was arrested on Friday by police on charges of circulating a photograph with features of a dead man resembling the missing Christopher Aine, the head of Mr Amama Mbabazi’s security team.

Mr Andrew Karamagi, a friend of Mr Rwomushana, said they failed to trace him at Special Investigations Division at Kireka, Wakiso District, where they were told he was detained.
“Officers at Kireka told us that they didn’t have him in their facilities. We tried Jinja Road Police Station and it was the same story,” Mr Karamagi said yesterday.
On Friday, police confirmed that they had arrested him and he was in their detention.
Police standards allow suspects to be visited by their lawyers and family members.
Mr Karamagi said he had been in touch with some of Mr Rwomushana’s family members, but he isn’t aware of any of his family members who knows the former spy’s whereabouts.

What police say
Efforts to talk to police about Mr Rwomushana’s whereabouts and why they aren’t allowing his relatives and friends to visit him were futile as none of the Force spokespersons picked up our calls. But police sources said Mr Rwomushana’s lawyers are in touch with Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura to secure his release.
Earlier, the deputy police spokesperson, Ms Polly Namaye, said they wanted Mr Rwomushana to tell them the source of the photograph that he circulated on his social media platforms.

The same photograph led to the arrest of Mr Ben Byarabaha, the Red Pepper newspaper’s managing editor, and Mr Dickson Mubiru, the chief editor of Kamunye, a sister newspaper.

Mr Aine’s family last Thursday said the picture making the rounds on social media of a dead body bears similar features to those of the missing aide. Ms Ritah Babirye Aine, a twin sister of Mr Aine, last Thursday said her brother has a scar above the eye and a gap between the teeth; features visible on the pictures of the body being shared on social media.