MPs Summon Moses Ali Over Abductions

By Hamis Kaheru and Richard Mutumba PARLIAMENT yesterday summoned Brig. Moses Ali, third deputy premier and internal affairs minister, to explain the arrest of Workers MP Dr. Sam Lyomoki and the abduction and beating of civilians by security agents. Emmanuel Pinto (Kakuto) sparked off a heated debate when he tabled the matter. Pinto said Uganda Club, where Lyomoki was arrested on Tuesday, was a registered property of Parliament. "Was he (Lyomoki) out of bounds to be in that place?" he asked. He said the arrest and release of an MP without formal charges in court and without the Speaker's knowledge had caused anxiety among the public. Ben Wacha (Oyam North) said certain arms of the Government were overstepping their powers. "Some people are behaving as if when presidential candidate A is not around tomorrow the State of Uganda will cease to exist," he said. "People are being arrested every day, abducted and when they appear in the morning, they say they have been released. Why were they arrested in the first place?" he asked. "Young people are being beaten. I have never seen an election so violent like this and as MPs we must rise and say 'No'," Wacha added. Okullo-Epak (Oyam South) said, "What we are seeing in this election leaves a lot to be desired and we should save this country from receding backwards." Nsubuga Nsambu (Makindye) said one of his constituents was on Sunday night abducted, bundled and taken to Mbuya military barracks by alleged security agents who vandalised his home. "I hear those people wanted to put a poster of President Museveni on his house but he refused," Nsambu said. Winnie Babihuga (Rukungiri, Women) said two vehicles which had taken people from Rukungiri to attend Col. Kizza Besigye's rally in Kabale were shot at on Tuesday night and occupants beaten in Rukungiri town. "This is a calculated move to terrorise this nation by those in power," she said. The motion to invite Moses Ali was proposed by Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi and formally moved by Pinto. Ends