Sakwa, MP Balyeku clash over arrest

The embattled Jinja Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Eric Sakwa, has accused Jinja West Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Moses Grace Balyeku, of having engineered his arrest.
Mr Sakwa, 38, was on April 24, arrested and charged with manslaughter, a crime of killing a person without malice aforethought (conscious intent to kill), which carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment upon conviction.
Speaking to Daily Monitor at the weekend, Mr Sakwa said: “Balyeku is the one who engineered everything; of course he denies but he is the one who does all that.”
“I delayed in Kampala but was supposed to be in office on Friday or even the weekend. I will be there on Monday [yesterday] doing my normal work,” he said.

However, Mr Balyeku has denied the allegations, saying: “Is police paid to do its work? Let’s respect the Uganda Police Force.”
“I have no problem with [Eric] Sakwa that necessitates me to go to that level of arresting him. I am not a police officer, minister in government or army officer but an ordinary backbencher in Parliament. I don’t have those powers to make court sit at 4pm,” he added.

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  Last week several witnesses told the commission that it was Hon Balyeku who was pushing several technocrats among them the Chairperson Jinja District Land Board Chairperson Ms Innocent Ngobi Ndiko to give the land to Mr Patel.

According to Mr Balyeku, Mr Sakwa is battling skeletons in his closet.
“The same people who are praising him are the ones who chased him away from Jinja, humiliated him and took him to Kumi District,” he said.
Mr Balyeku said it was him who ‘fought so hard’ for Mr Sakwa’s return to Jinja District.
“Because he was tracing thieves of medicine in the district, as a leader, I said: “This man should come back, and thank God he returned as full RDC.”
Mr Sakwa is credited for fighting land grabbers and corrupt officials in Jinja, something that is reported to have rattled some big political feathers.

Case
Prosecution alleges that Mr Sakwa, between March 22 and April 17 this year at Lwanda Village in Jinja District, unlawfully caused the death of businessman Charles Isanga. He was jointly charged with Mr Bumali Bazimbyewa, 19, a mechanic and Mr Simba Mohammed, alias Meddie, 31, a businessman in Jinja before being remanded to Kirinya government prison in Jinja until May 13.
However Jinja Court has since grated Mr Sakwa bail.

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