Africa-Press – Uganda. Members of the National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) yesterday tasked the government to disclose the whereabouts of the party’s president, Mr Joseph Kabuleta.
Mr Kabuleta was arrested by the police on Monday for allegedly promoting sectarianism.
The party officials say he was then taken to an unknown location.
“On Monday, a total of six men, who did not identify themselves and were not dressed professionally, forced themselves into the office compound and abducted president Kabuleta. We do not know the agency that abducted him and to date, there has been no disclosure of his whereabouts. We, therefore, demand that the police tell us where he is immediately,” Mr Asuman Odaka, the party’s secretary general, said during an emergency media briefing yesterday at the party offices in Bugolobi, Kampala.
He added: “If we don’t hear anything about the party president by 2pm [yesterday]; we are going to release clear pictures [showing] the faces of the men [who] took him so that if they are illegal people security can begin a manhunt or we know if they are security operatives.”
It was not clear whether the pictures were released or if the police had disclosed the whereabouts of Mr Kabuleta to the party officials by press time yesterday.
Mr Ivan Bwowe, one of Mr Kabuleta’s lawyers, said security operatives acted unprofessionally during the arrest of Mr Kabuleta.
“The law is clear regarding the arrest of a citizen, where to take them and their rights while in custody. Therefore, what the security agencies did was illegal and in violation of my client’s rights. We ask police to be professional and allow his family members to [see him] as well as his doctor and legal counsel,” Mr Bwowe said.
In a statement issued on Monday, the police confirmed the arrest of Mr Kabuleta but did not reveal which security agency was holding him or where he is.
“Today, November 28 at 12:55hrs, Joseph Kabuleta was arrested after failing to honour police summons issued to him to report to Kampala Metropolitan Police Headquarters on November 3 at 10:00hrs for interview and statement recording on charges of promoting sectarianism,” the statement reads in part.
However, Mr Bwowe said his client found it hard to honour the summons because of the manner in which they were delivered.
The police yesterday said they were waiting for the magistrates to finish their two-day conference before they can arraign Mr Kabuleta in court.
Case
Police allege that on May 30, Mr Kabuleta and other members of the party held a press conference in Kampala where they alleged that social service delivery in Mbarara is based on ethnic lines of the Tutsi, Bahima, Bakiga and Banyankole.
If convicted on charges of promoting sectarianism, Mr Kabuleta faces up to five years in jail.
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