Interpol gets involved in Namubiru's Japan arrest

By Pidson Kareire

The International Police in Uganda has picked interest in local singer Iryn Namubiru’s Japan arrest.

Asan Kasingye, the director of Interpol in Uganda, confirmed Wednesday that Namubiru, who got arrested in Japan last Friday over possession of illegal drugs, is still being detained in Japan while investigations continue.

“Following her arrest, Japanese Police got in touch with us saying they were detaining a holder of a French passport who claimed she was Ugandan,” Kasingye told New Vision on phone.  

“And since Namubiru is a Ugandan national although she holds a French passport, we as Interpol in Uganda got involved, and we are working with France to help our national out of this,” Kasingye added.

He said that although Namubiru is still detained in Japan; the promoter, who is said to have hired her to go and perform in Japan, a one Kim Tumwesigye aka Ueno, has fled Japan and is already in Kampala.

Kasingye added that Interpol was on the said promoter’s trail to find out if he knew about the existence of the drug pellets found concealed in powdered groundnuts in one of Namubiru’s parcels.

“We also want to find out why he would abandon the person he hired to go perform. That will perhaps help inform the investigation.”

Meanwhile, the singer’s brother and manager Thaddeus Mubiru has refuted social media claims that Namubiru is already back in Kampala.

“Iryn is still detained in Japan. Those claims that she is already back in Kampala are diversions we suspect are being engineered by the query promoter,” Mubiru said.