By Hillary Kiirya and Jude Etyang

BRIGADIER Henry Tumukunde was yesterday charged with spreading harmful propaganda and remanded at the Senior Officers Mess in Kololo.

Tumukunde was charged at the General Court Martial (GCM) with four counts for breaching army rules over public statements he made on a CBS radio talk-show hosted by Medi Nsereko Sebuliba and one on Radio One hosted by David Mushabe.

Tumukunde, who was arrested on Saturday, was also charged with two counts of conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline.
He faces two counts of spreading harmful propaganda.

Tumukunde denied all the charges and was remanded until June 11 after he failed to secure bail by 5:00pm when court closed.

After Tumukunde was charged at 12:30pm, his lawyers asked the court to stand over the bail application to wait for the sureties to reach court.

The court chairman, Lt. Gen. Elly Tumwine, agreed to wait until 3:30pm while hearing another case where Tumukunde is accused of creating ghost soldiers on the army’s payroll.

At 4:00pm, the lawyers asked the court to hear the bail application, but Tumwine reportedly said it was not urgent and that he had no time.

“He said he did not see any urgency in the bail, that he will hear it on June 11,” one of the lawyers told a gathering outside court.

The lawyer said prosecution had also applied to cancel Tumukunde’s bail for the ghost soldier case.

Before he left in a military vehicle with four armed military police guards, Tumukunde said he was undergoing psychological torture in detention but would stand firm for justice.

“There is a lot of psychological torture but I am okay. I am a soldier, I will stand firm in search of justice,” he said.

Tumukunde had got five MPs to stand as sureties because his sureties, former army commander Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu and Maj. Gen. Joram Mugume (left), were absent. The MPs were Ben Wacha, Maj. John Kazoora, Capt. Charles Byaruhanga, Issa Kikungwe and Francis Epetait.

Former External Security Organisation chief David Pulkol and presidential hopeful Nasser Sebaggala were among sympathisers who attended court.
Tumukunde was produced in court dressed in a light-blue polo T-shirt, black trousers, sandals and a cap. When Tumwine asked him why he was not in uniform, he replied, “This is how I was arrested and was not given time to go and change.”

(See Tumukunde’s profile on page 28)