By Steven Candia

Former Mukono district Police chief James Aurien was yesterday re-arrested over the murder of his wife, 22 days after he was freed amid protests from activists.

Aurien is accused of murdering Christine Apolot at their home in Mukono district on April 20. However, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) ordered his release on July 27, saying key witness Christine Akello, Apolot’s sister, had gone missing

The DPP said the charge would be reinstated once the witness had been traced. Although Akello has not yet been found, the Police yesterday picked up Aurien from Kampala city centre at about 2:00pm and whisked him to Jinja Road Police Station where he was still detained by late last night.

“We have been working closely with the DPP and that is why he was re-arrested and the charge reinstated,” Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba said yesterday.

She explained that the Police and the DPP had evaluated other evidence, which was the basis for the re-arrest.

“We will proceed on the strength of the evidence on the file as we trace the key suspect,” she said.

“The key witness will be found.”

Aurien, who was released from Luzira Prison, is suspected to have shot his wife, Apolot, in the eye after accusing her of having an extra-marital affair.

The Police chief, who allegedly bundled the body and dropped it in front of Lugazi Police Station, first went into hiding but later handed himself in to the Police.

Before his re-arrest, the Association of Uganda Women Lawyers had said it would pressure the DPP to use available “crucial clues” to trace the missing witness.

Speaking in an interview, Maria Nasali, the chief executive officer, said new details had emerged which would help unravel the mystery of Akello’s whereabouts.

“We want the relevant government departments to do their work,” she said.

Nasali’s comments came days after The New Vision reported that Akello had been taken away from her home in Serere, Soroti district by David Mpangi, said to be Aurien’s son.

Reports say Mpangi is a policeman attached to Parliament and lives in Nsambya Police Barracks.

Though the Police acknowledges Mpangi as one of its own, they said they were still verifying reports that he had taken away the witness.

Akebina Awoyo, Akello’s mother, was quoted last week by Etop, The New Vision’s sister paper, saying Akello was picked from home days after Apolot’s burial.

“Mpangi came riding a motorcycle and took Akello from home,” she said. Mpangi, Awoyo said, claimed that Akello was his girlfriend.

Awoyo also said Mpangi first used another policeman, Joseph Alaku, to lure Akello from home, adding that when Alaku was pressurised over the matter, he returned her. “It was then that Mpangi collected Akello himself and the family has not seen her again since,” she added.

FIDA chief Nassali said these were important clues for the DPP to pursue.

Last week, the association warned that in the event the DPP did not reopen the case, it would use private investigators to follow it up.