Kampala, Uganda | URN | The Uganda Police Force has sanctioned four charges against two bodyguards of Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu alias Bobi Wine who have been detained at Wandegeya Police Station since Friday 25th last week.
Although police arrested them basing on only one offence of assaulting police officers on duty, police spokesperson Fred Enanga now reveals that after reviewing the CCTV footage from Twed Tower, it has been found that the bodyguards committed three other offences.
Enanga said Rashid Kavuma and Matovu Adam, who on Friday 25th allegedly assaulted police officers when ordered to vacate the place where they were standing waiting for their boss.
Court had summoned Kyagulanyi for a hearing about the controversies surrounding his National Unity Platform (NUP) party, which he took over from Moses Nkonge Kibalama.
Enanga says the duo who were initially detained on one charge of assaulting police officers on duty, is now being charged with committing acts of violence at court premises, assault, obstructing police officers, and resisting lawful arrest.
“We are expecting their files that were submitted to be returned from the DPP and they are likely to appear in court by either today or tomorrow,” Enanga said on Monday 28th, September 2020.
He says that the police management has decided to take cases of assault against police officers on duty seriously following the increasing attacks on police officers by the same group in Kyagulanyi’s camp on several occasions.
At one point in the video that made rounds on social media, Kavuma is shown grabbing a police officer’s collar and pinning him on the wall while other officers try to rescue their colleague from the charged Kavuma.
“The officers were carrying on their duty, but these two together with others refused to follow instructions and carried out unprovoked attacks on our officers and they are seen to be becoming more emboldened with these acts of violence which we see escalating every day,” Enanga added.
“We want to remind the public including gangs and honourable members of parliament that there will always be consequences for people who have no regard for the law, for people who attack officers on lawful duty is absolutely unacceptable, another one was pinned against the wall and these are officers who were armed. So they exhibited too much restrain. It was very painful, getting to see a police officer pinned on the wall, it is really very painful,” said Enanga.
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On their arrest, the NUP-leaning eyewitness Shamim Nabakooza who was together with the duo said Kawuma was “arrested like a criminal yet they were moving out peacefully. They kicked him and sprayed pepper in his eyes.”
Our efforts to speak to Joel Ssenyonyi the NUP spokesperson on the matter were futile as he was not picking our calls.
