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We can only speculate about Lukwago’s arrest — lawyer Sseggona
Sseggona said they are treating Lukwago's arrest as a kidnap, which they relate to his (Lukwago’s) professional practice as a lawyer.
Former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago was arrested by security operatives and whisked off to an unknown place. (File photo)
By: Umar Kashaka, Journalist @New Vision
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Former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago’s long-time friend and lawyer, Medard Sseggona, has said they can only speculate about his arrest on Monday morning, June 15.
“We can only speculate (that) it could be a general wave of criminal and acrimonious arrests across the country; arresting or targeting particular individuals, maybe based on their political beliefs and inclinations,” Sseggona, who is the former Busiro East MP, told journalists shortly after the arrest. Sseggona was addressing the media at Lukwago’s residence in Wakaliga, a Kampala suburb.
Lukwago, who is also the People’s Front for Freedom party leader, was arrested by security operatives and whisked off to an unknown place.
Before his arrest, Lukwago posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account, indicating that security operatives moving in two drones had surrounded his home.
His family said the operatives scaled the fence and entered the house before arresting him.
Sseggona said they are treating Lukwago's arrest as a kidnap, which they relate to his (Lukwago’s) professional practice as a lawyer.
Lukwago is one of the lawyers representing jailed four-time presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye and his aide, Haji Obeid Lutale, who are currently on remand in Luzira Maximum Security Prison in Kampala over treason charges.
Sseggona said late last week, High Court Judge Emmanuel Baguma fixed the human rights enforcement case against the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and the Attorney General, who is now Dr Sam Mayanja.
"Lukwago had undertaken today to look for Gen. Muhoozi to serve him with the court process. Going by the tweet (X post), Gen Muhoozi says, ‘We have him….’ So, I can only encourage people to remain firm in things they believe in,” Sseggona said.
His family said the operatives scaled the fence and entered the house before arresting him.
Sseggona said they are treating Lukwago's arrest as a kidnap, which they relate to his (Lukwago’s) professional practice as a lawyer.
Lukwago is one of the lawyers representing jailed four-time presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye and his aide, Haji Obeid Lutale, who are currently on remand in Luzira Maximum Security Prison in Kampala over treason charges.
Sseggona said late last week, High Court Judge Emmanuel Baguma fixed the human rights enforcement case against the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and the Attorney General, who is now Dr Sam Mayanja.
"Lukwago had undertaken today to look for Gen. Muhoozi to serve him with the court process. Going by the tweet (X post), Gen Muhoozi says, ‘We have him….’ So, I can only encourage people to remain firm in things they believe in,” Sseggona said.
He said they were going to report to Police a case of kidnap. “We treat it as a kidnap and we are following it up. Lukwago has been tried in court for over 20 cases without being convicted. That shows you that those who arrest him and take him to court are the lawbreakers. They have violated his rights for a long time,” the former MP alleged.
Sseggona also claimed that no one is safe. “On behalf of the friends and family, we are dismayed because we don’t think he (Lukwago) has a case that warrants such. We are going to do everything possible to search for him, we are going to report to the Police a case of kidnap as we pray.”
When journalists asked police spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma during a weekly press briefing at Naguru in Kampala about the cause of Lukwago’s arrest, he said he did not have the details.
“I am not aware about the arrest of former Lord Mayor Lukwago, but in the event that I get more information about it, we can always share it,” he said today.
However, Gen. Muhoozi confirmed that they had arrested Lukwago via his X account. He, however, did not reveal the reason for his arrest.
Wife condemns arrest
Meanwhile, Lukwago's wife, Zawedde Lubwama, who has been the rock of Lukwago’s life for over two decades, said the armed operatives scaled the fence around 10:00am and entered their house in Wakaliga, a Kampala suburb, to make the arrest.
“I think we have come to witness what we have never witnessed before. We were reading about [Idi] Amin’s regime in newspapers, but I think this is Amin’s regime regenerated through [Gen.] Muhoozi. It is really bad. If he (Muhoozi) thinks he is our next leader and he is going to rule us like this, we are already saying no. This is not how we are going to run,” she said.
Sseggona also claimed that no one is safe. “On behalf of the friends and family, we are dismayed because we don’t think he (Lukwago) has a case that warrants such. We are going to do everything possible to search for him, we are going to report to the Police a case of kidnap as we pray.”
When journalists asked police spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma during a weekly press briefing at Naguru in Kampala about the cause of Lukwago’s arrest, he said he did not have the details.
“I am not aware about the arrest of former Lord Mayor Lukwago, but in the event that I get more information about it, we can always share it,” he said today.
However, Gen. Muhoozi confirmed that they had arrested Lukwago via his X account. He, however, did not reveal the reason for his arrest.
Wife condemns arrest
Meanwhile, Lukwago's wife, Zawedde Lubwama, who has been the rock of Lukwago’s life for over two decades, said the armed operatives scaled the fence around 10:00am and entered their house in Wakaliga, a Kampala suburb, to make the arrest.
“I think we have come to witness what we have never witnessed before. We were reading about [Idi] Amin’s regime in newspapers, but I think this is Amin’s regime regenerated through [Gen.] Muhoozi. It is really bad. If he (Muhoozi) thinks he is our next leader and he is going to rule us like this, we are already saying no. This is not how we are going to run,” she said.