No Army Officer Has Fled To Rwanda, Says Katirima

By Edris Kisambira THE UPDF has refuted allegations that some senior army officials, including Lt. Col. Anthony Kyakabaale, fled the country and are seeking asylum in Rwanda. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Phinehas Katirima in a statement at the weekend said the report that Kyakabaale had fled was false. He said, "That he (Kyakabaale) has run away is not true because he has just been in Rukiga county for the campaigns of Manzi Tumubweine and Jack Sabiiti. "If he is in Kigali, he could be there on a private visit, which would be most irregular because he is a commander of the reserve force in Gulu and the army has not granted him permission to go to Kigali." The Monitor last Saturday ran a story on its front page saying over 50 officers of the UPDF and Uganda Police had sought asylum in Rwanda. It said some of the officers were Col. Samson Mande, Maj. Patrick Muhindo, Capt. Kabali Masembe and Lt. Tumwesigye Bakarweha. The statement said, "The army would like to make it clear that nobody has run away from Uganda because of torture." The release also said Mande and others who are alleged to be in London yet they are reported to be in Rwanda, have run away from justice after having been charged with terrorism. Katirima challenged the Rwandan government to publish the names of the alleged asylum seekers and hand them over to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Ends