Gen. Tumukunde arrested

ARREST                            TUMUKUNDE

Presidential hopeful Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde has reportedly been arrested by a combined team of the Special Forces Command and JATT.

The reasons for his arrest are still not clear as no official communication has been made regarding the arrest. 

The retired General declared his presidential bid last week and said he was ready to take on leadership from his former Commander-in-Chief, President Yoweri Museveni.

There was reported heavy deployment near his home located in Kololo, Kampala.

A group of veterans recently warned presidential Tumukunde over what they described as a violation of the Uganda Peoples' Defence Force code of conduct.

The group of about 100 veterans led by Capt. James Lukabwe made the remarks while speaking to journalists at G-One Hotel in Rubaga, Kampala.

"As retired soldiers, we are governed by the army code of conduct. We are not supposed to reveal vital information to the public about operations conducted during the guerrilla war. We were are disappointed to see Tumukunde breaching our code of conduct," Lt. Ali Byakatonda, one of the veterans, said. 

He cautioned Tumukunde against spreading falsehoods against President Yoweri Museveni and making reckless comments regarding the National Resistance Army bush war. 

On Friday last week, the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) has arrested at least eight escorts belonging the retired General Henry Tumukunde, barely three days after he got the nod from the Electoral Commission (EC) to carry out countrywide consultations to challenge President Yoweri Museveni in the 2021 polls.

"At first, they had summoned them for interrogation, but after, orders came from above and they were detained under unclear circumstances," a security source says.

Two weeks ago, the army allegedly recalled all the guards who were manning security at Tumukunde's residence back to Bombo Military Barracks. Sources said prior to the recalling, a search was conducted at Tumukunde's home at Hill Road in Kololo in Kampala and at his offices on Impala Avenue, also in Kololo.

All his village homes were also searched, sources said. Sources also intimated that at his Kololo residence, Tumukunde had about 10 guards, including Deus Kiiza, Oluka, Okello, Richard, Harunah, while at his Impala-based offices, he had about seven guards and they included Alfred Othieno, the driver of his escort car and Onyaiti.

Tumukunde confirmed the arrest of his guards to Sunday Vision on Friday but declined to divulge more information. "I have learnt that my escorts, who were earlier summoned to appear at CMI headquarters in Mbuya, have been arrested," he said.

However, army spokesperson Brig. Richard Karemire denied the arrest reports when contacted. "That is your own story. You have been reporting that his (Tumukunde's) guards were withdrawn and now you are saying they have been arrested. So, who has been arrested? First, discern the two," he said.

Karemire, however, added: "There is no one who is recruited as a guard of someone." The former spy chief will be the most senior Uganda People's Defence Forces officer to challenge President Yoweri Museveni in the polls.

"I join other well-meaning Ugandans to support the fundamental change, which we promised Ugandans in the past and a peaceful transition from one generation to another," he told EC. Tumukunde said he will be consulting on local, as well as regional and international security issues, economic development, social cohesion and political harmony.

"While I expect all the support that EC can offer me and my team to carry out peaceful consultation, as a presidential aspirant, I pray that the statutory mandate of the EC shall be respected by other organs of the state and that there will be harmony throughout this important constitutional exercise," he added.

Museveni, who has been in power for 34 years, is expected to seek reelection and political commentators say Tumukunde brings new energy to the fight against him. They argue that this is because he (Tumukunde) knows the operations of the ruling party and also knows the buttons to press to cause shock waves.

However, other political actors have doubted his bid and labelled him an NRM mole. Tumukunde spent over 30 years in the army and served as the head of the Internal Security Organisation, CMI, commander of UPDF 4th Division and, later, security minister. He ran into trouble in 2005 over publicly opposing the lifting of presidential term limits.

On May 28, 2005, he was forced to resign his seat in Parliament. He was subsequently arrested and detained for more than a year. He would later be remanded for years on charges of spreading harmful propaganda, for which he was acquitted, and military misconduct, for which he was convicted and sentenced to a severe reprimand, in 2013.

After rehabilitation, Tumukunde played a key role in Museveni's 2016 re-election campaign, neutralising former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi's political machinery and was named a minister after the elections.