Theodore Ssekikubo (NRM-Lwemiyaga) – The confession of Kalungi is not adding up. It is a hoax. And
whoever is telling him to give that confession is not right. You cannot say
that the deceased died of drugs. I think there is a missing gap about his
journey from Mombasa.
You cannot travel on the road from there within three hours and reach Kampala.
Barnabas Tinkasiimire (NRM-Buyaga West)-I absolutely disagree with him. A person who was taking
drugs in a period he is claiming should have manifested the effect of drugs. We
knew about the boyfriend and she told us she had chucked that man. This is a
makeup and theatrical. The questions are stage-managed… I think he was coached
to say whatever he is saying. I think everything is botched.
Jack Sabiiti (FDC-Rukiga)-The fact that the executive interfered with investigations
by other interested parties (family and Parliament) makes the investigations
suspect. The state is trying to cover up whatever took place. Parliament
[wondered] why this person was not being pursued; instead they were pursuing
innocent MPs. They are using this innocent young man to cover up.
Wilfred Niwagaba (NRM-Ndorwa East)-Any reasonable Ugandan will know that whatever he is saying
is prearranged. The story he is saying is what government wants him to say.
Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo at Kiira Police Station in Wakiso where he is being detained after he was arrested on Monday night. The MP, accused of inciting violence, has also been singled out for expulsion from the NRM party. PHOTO BY JOSEPH KIGGUNDU
Also Read:
Kalungi makes U-turn, pleads not guilty
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2013/01/nebandas-mother-rejects-kalungi.html
MPs punch holes in Kalungi confession
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23036:mps-punch-holes-in-kalungi-confession-&catid=34:news&Itemid=114
Last Saturday, Adam Suleiman Kalungi, the
self-professed boyfriend of the late Butaleja Woman MP Cerinah Nebanda, who
watched her die, nearly three weeks ago, made a powerful confession that not
only shed light on her mysterious death that sparked an outpouring of grief and
rage but also confirmed the official autopsy report findings that linked her
death to a drugs overdose.
Kalungi, who was arrested in Mombasa, Kenya
last Friday, told a news conference at the Special Investigations Unit in
Kireka on Saturday that Nebanda used cocaine and heroin together. He said on
the fateful day, Nebanda had switched to heroin and ingested it the wrong way
by sniffing it. Heroin is taken in tablet or injectable form. The confession
has since stirred controversy and misgivings from family and friends. The
mother of Nebanda rejected the confession outright at the weekend.
“That is just planned and I suspect they have
been holding him somewhere and they just brought him out when Parliament put
pressure on them. Can you imagine Police calling a press conference for a
suspect? Why don’t they call a press conference for me? I give them my evidence
and they throw it in the basket,” Alice Namulwa said.
Bunyole West MP, Jacob Wangolo, who shared a
parliamentary office with Nebanda, said the fallen MP never showed any signs of
using illegal substances.
“From the time I met Nebanda in 2010, I have
never noticed any changes in her life,” said Wangolo, a laid-back NRM lawmaker.
“I knew her very well, and like you know, we used to share this office. And you
know that someone who takes cocaine has ability to change. Cocaine is not a
simple thing…The way I know cocaine, I am not aware of that from that girl. But
that is history,” Wangolo said.
Wangolo also revealed that Kalungi came to Nebanda’s
office twice, last November, and Nebanda never introduced him as her boyfriend.
Wangolo also revealed that sometime in November, a story appeared in a local
tabloid indicating that Nebanda and her lover had been involved in an accident
at Lugogo by-pass.
“After that story appeared, the Parliamentary
Commission called her in a meeting that was also attended by the government
Chief Whip, Kasule Lumumba, where Nebanda said that she was not involved in any
accident as the tabloid had reported,” Wangolo revealed, adding: “the
Parliamentary Commission was worried, and they advised her to be careful. But
Nebanda simply said that she doesn’t care.”
MPs remain divided on whether to believe
Kalungi’s confession or not. Some argue that the Police’s method of work—parading
the suspect before the media for questioning before he was taken to court—only
created more suspicion, and that the inconsistencies in his statement point to
what Aswa MP, Ronald Reagan Okumu, called “a poorly- coached witness”.
“The confession of Kalungi doesn’t tally with
what the mother said,” Okumu said.
Ntejeru South MP, Patrick Nsanja, does not
believe Kalungi, either.
“Kalungi said that he bought rice and beans from
Chicken Tonight, a line he tries to connect to what the parliamentary doctors
told us that rice particles were found in her body. But he waters down his own
confession when he says that on his way home, he found Cerinah had already
sniffed heroin –meaning she never ate the food,” Nsanja said.
Yet to MPs like Peter Ogwang (Eastern Youth MP),
the confession is solid and the Police action of parading the witness before
the media was done in good faith because this is “a public matter”.
What MPs say
Muhammad Nsereko (NRM-Kampala Central)
-I am not interested in knowing whatever Kalungi is saying.
Theodore Ssekikubo (NRM-Lwemiyaga) – The confession of Kalungi is not adding up. It is a hoax. And whoever is telling him to give that confession is not right. You cannot say that the deceased died of drugs. I think there is a missing gap about his journey from Mombasa. You cannot travel on the road from there within three hours and reach Kampala.
Twa Twa Mutwalante (NRM-Iki Iki)-When she was here she was sober and I didn’t see her being intoxicated. Why are they allowing the media to interview the suspect? I think this was improper.
Barnabas Tinkasiimire (NRM-Buyaga West)-I absolutely disagree with him. A person who was taking drugs in a period he is claiming should have manifested the effect of drugs. We knew about the boyfriend and she told us she had chucked that man. This is a makeup and theatrical. The questions are stage-managed… I think he was coached to say whatever he is saying. I think everything is botched.
Jack Sabiiti (FDC-Rukiga)-The fact that the executive interfered with investigations by other interested parties (family and Parliament) makes the investigations suspect. The state is trying to cover up whatever took place. Parliament [wondered] why this person was not being pursued; instead they were pursuing innocent MPs. They are using this innocent young man to cover up.
Hanifah Kawooya (NRM-Sembabule Woman)-This is a matter being investigated by the Police; so, when I make any comment to the media it will be more like leading a contrary investigation which would be prejudicial.
James Kakooza (NRM-Kabula)-It is difficult for someone whom you have not stayed with for a long time to know what they do in private. I do not know what they wanted to achieve by allowing the media to interview a suspect… But I think the approach has not been right; that is why there is a ping pong.
Wilfred Niwagaba (NRM-Ndorwa East)-Any reasonable Ugandan will know that whatever he is saying is prearranged. The story he is saying is what government wants him to say.
How Ssekikubo was beaten, arrested
Tuesday, 08 January 2013 23:24
Police has been looking for Ssekikubo following the arrest of MPs Muhammad Nsereko (Kampala Central) and Dr Chris Baryomunsi (Kinkiizi East).
They got him on Monday, after he had participated
in collecting signatures to recall the House from recess to debate the fallout
from Nebanda’s death. Upon leaving Parliament on Monday, Ssekikubo attended a
meeting at an undisclosed location in town which lasted till 9:30pm. Ssekikubo
then decided to head for his residence in Kawempe, a suburb near Kampala.
Driving his Land Cruiser vehicle with three
others, among them Isha Ntumwa, who lost the Mawogola county parliamentary seat
to Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa in 2011, Ssekikubo drove to the Bombo
Road City Oil filling station to refill his car. At that point, police
detectives who had been trailing him in a Toyota Premio Reg. N0. UAP 297J
alighted from the vehicle.
“They parked just right in front of our car and
called him outside. They talked for some time before he returned and informed
us about what was going on,” Ntumwa told The Observer.
In the process, Ssekikubo started locking his car
windows, which the security men interpreted as an attempt to resist arrest.
According to another account by Muhammad Kateregga, the Bukomansimbi district
chairman, who had gone to the same filling station, the security officers then
attempted to drag the MP out of his car against his wish. Ssekikubo had
demanded that before he is taken, those arresting him identify themselves.
“One of them tried to push his hand through the
window but hurriedly pulled it out to avoid being trapped,” Ntumwa said.
It’s then that the operative called for
reinforcement and four police pickup trucks arrived. They dragged Ssekikubo on
the tarmac, handcuffed him before they bundled him into one of the vehicles. By
this time, a small crowd had gathered shortly before he was carted off to jail.
Ndorwa East MP Winfred Niwagaba told The Observer
at Kira police station where several lawmakers and his wife were camped,
that Ssekikubo was badly tortured during the arrest. “He was tortured and is in
great pain,” he said.
Bishop Dr Zac Niringiye, who was present, prayed
for Ssekikubo. Niwagaba said a group of MPs had implored the police to allow
Ssekikubo to be transferred to a hospital for treatment. Yesterday the
lawmaker, who was speaking from his cell, told Niwagaba that those who arrested
him said they were going to teach him a lesson.
“You, we are going to deal with you. Why are you
fighting the state?” Niwagaba quotes Ssekikubo as saying.
“He was later brought here [Kira police] and
dumped in a cell full of faeces,” lamented Niwagaba.
In case, he is not arraigned before court within
48 hours, Niwagaba said, they will file a habeas corpus writ to compel police
to produce him in court. Buyaga West MP Barnabas Tinkasiimire said Ssekikubo
told him he was bundled onto a police pickup as security operatives beat him
up.
“The law provides that when you are arrested, you
are told the reasons as to why you are being arrested, but up to now we don’t
know the charges against him,” Tinkasiimire said.
Mityana North MP Godfrey Kiwanda said such
high-handed acts from the state will only embolden the victims.
“Rebels are either made or they are created.
These [arrests] are hardening us; we are now like on training. We are going to
become more and more dangerous,” Kiwanda said.
Before he was arrested, police had issued
criminal summons through the Speaker demanding that Ssekikubo appears for
questioning on January 10, 2012. District Police Commander Peter Nkulega had
earlier told lawmakers he had orders from above not to allow other people from
seeing Ssekikubo, except his wife and his counsels.
MPs Summoned
Police has also issued criminal summons against
three other lawmakers for allegedly inciting violence in connection with the
controversial death of Nebanda. These include Workers’ MP Dr Samuel Lyomoki,
Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze and Katerera MP Hatwib Katoto. Earlier,
Dr Medard Bitekyerezo (Mbarara municipality), who was also wanted, reported to
the police and was released on bond. The summonses were issued by the deputy director
Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Directorate (CIID), Fred Musana.
Hon Semujju-Nganda
We can now freely discuss it in the media and in Parliament without being
warned it is sub judice. It also signals the end of police investigations into
the possible cause of Nebanda’s death. The president, therefore, can nolonger
accuse Parliament of trying to interfere with investigations. I have
considered this development an own goal by both the president and police.
Nebanda: Why is Museveni so afraid of MPs?
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23024:nebanda-why-is-museveni-so-afraid-of-mps&catid=93:columnists
Tuesday, 08 January 2013 23:00
If the confession by Adam Kalungi that he caused
the death of Hon Cerinah Nebanda was a tactic by the state to close this
controversial subject, it has instead opened it even wider.
In fact, as we prepared our petition for the
recall of Parliament, we deliberately left out any matter that directly touches
on Nebanda’s death because with criminal proceedings going on in court, it
would be sub judice. And that brings me to the main subject of today’s column,
which is government’s handling of the whole Nebanda death affair that presents
them as a party behind it.
If the government is not guilty, why is it
stopping every single process intended to discuss or even find out what and who
could have killed Nebanda?
I can tell you that getting MPs to sign to recall
Parliament has been a struggle, as was the flying of samples to South Africa
for an independent medical examination.
Many NRM MPs’ mobile phones bear Mr Museveni’s
048-8... etc number. He has literally called everybody himself to either
intimidate or persuade them against signing. Ministers; Rose Namayanja
(Luweero), Ronald Kibuule (children) and Frank Tumwebaze (Presidency) were
specifically assigned to prevent NRM MPs from signing.
Unfortunately for them, many NRM MPs are still
interested in good governance and this motivated them to sign. I actually have
no doubt in my mind that the reason Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Ssekikubo was
kidnapped by police on Monday evening as he fuelled his car at City Oil Bombo
road has everything to do with his mobilization of signatures and not earlier
utterances about Nebanda’s death.
I can reveal to you that some key signatures that
concluded the collection exercise were brought by Ssekikubo. We had earlier
relied on phone calls but Ssekikubo, Godfrey Kiwanda, Wilfred Niwagaba and
Patrick Nsanja brought in an idea of knocking at MPs’ doors. By the time
Namayanja got to know of this new tactic, we had already hit the target. There
is a Munyoro MP we located in Nansana, using LCs.
I am not surprised that police swung into action
after our submission. But the question to ask is: “why would Mr Museveni be
afraid of a parliamentary debate on Nebanda?
The answer is that since Nebanda breathed her
last, the president wanted to transform himself into the only source of
information about the possible cause of her death and poor police didn’t know
that. That is why they ended up allowing MP and medical doctors Chris Baryomunsi,
Medard Bitekyerezo and Sam Lyomoki into the postmortem room, something that
infuriated the head of state. Since then, he has never been the same.
I might be wrong and too suspicious, but the
conduct of the president doesn’t exonerate him. Within minutes of Nebanda’s
death, the president had rung everybody demanding to speak to the female
medical person who had attended to Nebanda shortly before she was taken to
Nsambya General clinic. I am now told that woman is in some sort of detention.
Her relatives cannot access her. And the media
has not helped the situation by failing to follow people like these ones. The
medical personnel was arrested and, to the best of my knowledge, not charged.
The public must hear from her and I really hope she will not be eliminated. As
mentioned earlier, Mr Museveni personally called everybody involved in
investigations and either threatened or offered unsolicited advice.
The most scandalous story, which again the media
has not followed is that of Nebanda’s cousin brother, who Museveni and Kayihura
loaded onto a plane to escort their samples to London. The mother said this guy didn’t
possess a passport but one was printed for him within minutes and at night. An
air ticket was procured for him and at night he was driven in Asan Kasingye’s
vehicle and probably taken to State House before he was loaded onto the plane.
Unfortunately for the government, the British authorities denied him a visa.
The mother drove towards Entebbe airport to rescue the young man and
it is Mr Museveni who called her with information that the boy was airborne.
And finally, Adam Kalungi shows up and is interrogated by every senior police
officer, including Lt Gen Kale Kayihura. I am told before his capture, Kayihura
was in Kenya.
One day we will find out what took him there three days before Kalungi’s
capture.
As we all predicted, Adam Kalungi is not allowed
to narrate the whole story but in one sentence confesses to have killed
Nebanda. In fact this confession is first published in New Vision on the weekend
before it is repeated in court. I think with the confession, the inquest can
begin as it will not prejudice court proceedings. God help Uganda.
The author is Kyadondo East MP.
The author is Kyadondo East MP.
