New accusations against Kayihura

Better evidence or desperation by ISO, CMI?

Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Since August 27 last year when he was released on bail, embattled former inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura has appeared to be on the road to rehabilitation and possible freedom.

Many observes assumed his privileges to have been partly restored when he received two brand new Toyota Land Cruisers—one from the army and another from police as part of his privileges for serving the two institutions.

Kayihura appeared to have unimpeded travel within the country and State House aided him as he applied for visas to travel with four others including his wife and a military officer to Germany for medical treatment.

Kayihura’s road to freedom was even marked with an important milestone, on Feb.04. That is when he would appear again before the Military Court Martial at Makindye military barracks in Kampala on three charges; failure to protect war materials, aiding and abetting kidnap, and illegal repatriation of Rwandese exiles. The Court Martial is yet to give a hearing date for the case and Kayihura appears at every beginning of month as part of the terms for his bail.

The same court was set to decide on the bail applications of Kayihura’s co-accused; Herbert Muhangi, the former commander of the defunct Flying Squad Unit and that of Col. Ndahura Atwooki, the former director crime intelligence. Both officers have been under military detention since when CMI arrested them together with Richard Ndaboine, the former head of cyber intelligence. They are also facing charges of failure to protect war materials, aiding the kidnap, and illegal repatriation of Rwandan nationals.

But, The Independent can exclusively report, that Kayihura is not free to travel around as was assumed and new charges again him are being prepared by the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) and the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).

Details remain scanty but The Independent has learnt that the intelligence bodies are now investigating Kayihura over allegations that he instructed Herbert Muhangi to work with Congolese to steal vehicles from Uganda to sell them in DR Congo and raise Shs200 million per month for an unstated purpose.

Apparently, the security organs have Congolese who are ready to confess that Kayihura, through Muhangi, was working with them.

In another charge, the security agencies allege that Kayihura instructed Abdul Kitatta; the jailed former head of the defunct Boda Boda 2010 to kill people with machetes in Kampala and its suburbs. The goal was allegedly to discredit President Yoweri Museveni’s record on security.

Kitatta and 12 others were remanded to Kigo prison in January last year by the army’s Unit Disciplinary Court over charges of failure to protect war material, being in possession of military stores, among others, following their arrest the same month.

Connecting Kitatta and Kayihura to gangs that used machetes to kill people is a major accusation. The machete wielding gangs sent shock waves across central Uganda in 2017 forcing police to carry out a sting and arrest scores, some of who claimed they were working with police.

The killings by these gangs caused a security crisis that saw President Museveni instruct CMI to take over many police functions including arresting and detaining police officers accused of working with criminal elements.