I was held for three hours, says Musinguzi

By Vision reporter Former Kinkizi West parliamentary candidate James Musinguzi was detained by the army for three hours on Sunday, he said yesterday.Musinguzi, a prominent member of Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye’s 2001 presidential elections campaign, said the army men who arrested him were led by Sgt. Natukunda. He said they interrogated him at gun-point and forced him to record a statement.“I was at a shop in Kanyantorogo trading centre when Natukunda arrived with over 40 soldiers. They surrounded the place and said I was impersonating the area MP (Amama Mbabazi who is also defence minister) and that I was recruiting rebels,” Mbabazi said on phone from Rukungiri.He said the soldiers ordered him to remove his shoes and lie down, which he refused. He said his driver, Christopher Kamara, was forced to remove the shoes at gunpoint.“They told me to record a statement out of their own words. I refused and vowed to die without signing it,” Musinguzi said. He said on intervention of former Jinja mayor, Charles Katarikawe, he was released but his driver was detained till late in the night.The Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) disassociated themselves from the arrest.The deputy chief of CMI, Maj. James Mugira, said in a statement yesterday, “The CMI has so far not had any interest in nor given any instructions to arrest Musinguzi.” Musinguzi’s family and Betty Kamya, the spokesperson for Reform Agenda, a political group to which Musinguzi is a member, were quoted by the media as saying he was being detained at Kanyantorogo UPDF detachment in Kanungu. They said he was arrested by CMI for reportedly mobilising youth for subversion. But Mugira said, “CMI would like to inform the general public and all the media houses that the said reports are totally false and are a complete fabrication to tarnish the name and image of this institution and the Government.”“The media is advised to always cross-check their stories with us before publication to avoid misinforming the public,” he said. Musinguzi lost the Kinkizi seat to Mbabazi last year. He filed a petition in court claiming the elections were rigged in Mbabazi’s favour. The verdict is expected soon.