By Charles Etukuri THE Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has summoned the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)president, Col. Kizza Besigye, over his opening of a ballot box in last month’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

The summons were served yesterday morning at the FDC headquarters in Najjanakumbi. Besigye said he had not received it personally or seen the summons.

“Yes the summons have been served. But I consider them outrageous. I am not sure when I will be appearing as I have not seen them myself,” he said.

FDC envoy in the office of the president Beti Kamya acknowledged receiving the summons on behalf of Besigye, but said they had been taken back.

“The election fraud unit summoned Besigye for opening the ballot box and wanted him to appear before Elly Wamonya to record a statement today (yesterday) at 2:00pm, but I told them he had other commitments so they went beck with the summons and promised to issue new ones next week,” Kamya said.

The summons were first delivered on Thursday, but the party officials turned away the officer who had taken them.

“There was a police officer who came here to serve the summons but I turned him away because it was addressed to Dr. Besigye and I told him to serve them at his home,” said Louis Otika, the party’s administrator.

When contacted yesterday, Besigye vented his anger and disappointment on the CID and its boss Elizabeth Kutesa, describing the Police department as a partisan institution and Kutesa as an incompetent officer.

“CID is no longer a department of Government. It is a department of National Resistance Movement bent on being used to harass and intimidate the opposition,” he said.

“It is a pity that we can have a person who exhibited criminal tendencies herself heading the CID. She is incompetent and this was demonstrated in the just concluded rape case where the director was found to have falsified documents so as to incriminate me. It is the same director who is now trying to incriminate me.”

Kamya also blasted the CID over harassing Besigye for pointing out the anomalies in the electoral process, while leaving the EC which breached the law by providing unsealed boxes.

“The CID, which is so busy following Besigye, has failed to investigate Ramadhan Magara who shot and killed three people in Mengo. They are saying they have failed to get evidence yet one of the victims, Haruna Byamukama, is in Ward 3C in Mulago in a critical condition,” Kamya said.

While casting his vote on February 23, in Rukungiri, Besigye took the ballot box lid off and protested to the presiding officer that the unsealed box was a recipe for rigging.
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