FDC, police in fresh row over Jjulunga murder inquiry

Gerald Bareebe
Kampala

The opposition Forum for Democratic Change is on another collision course with the Police after its internal inquiry into the death of party activist Tom Jjulunga accused the Force of deliberately mishandling the case and protecting the prime suspect Mr Vincent Baguma.

The July 14 report prepared by FDC secretary for Internal Affairs Frank Atukunda, alleges that apart from the police tipping off Mr Baguma to escape initial arrest in his Mubende hide-out on June 13, the Force is currently holding him at the Kireka-based Rapid Response Unit. The Police have since denied FDC officials from accessing Mr Baguma despite the Force agreeing with the party to cooperate in the conduct of the inquiry.

“All attempts to talk to him while in detention have all been futile. Police have said we can only access him if we are his lawyers or relatives,” the report says.

Mr Jjulunga, who was killed in a mysterious city shooting on June 6, had made his name criticising the government on Kampala radio debates, commonly known as Ebimeeza.

According to the FDC report, the understanding to cooperate in the inquiry was reached at a June 8 meeting between FDC officials led by Maj. John Kazoora and senior police officers Mr Francis Mujinya, the Kampala Metropolitan Counter Terrorism Chief, Mr Paul Kato, the Kampala Metropolitan CID Chief and Mr Edward Ochom, the director of CID.

Mr Baguma, who allegedly hired the car in which Mr Jjulunga was murdered, was on June 21 presented by the Police to the press as having handed over himself voluntarily and confessed that he was involved in a car robbery in Kawempe, where he claimed Jjulunga was shot.

The FDC report also disputes this, pointing out that no case of robbery was reported at Kawempe Police on the night of the murder of their party activist. “Our investigations show that this record did not exist prior to Baguma’s arrest,” the report says.

Mr Atukunda told Daily Monitor on Saturday that prior to the Police shielding Mr Baguma, the latter had agreed to tell the FDC officials everybody that was involved in the murder. “We made attempts to talk to him in Kireka but they (Police) have refused,” he said.

Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba has accused FDC officials of trying to distort information before Police concludes its investigations. “What do they want us to do? We are still investigating,” Ms Nabakooba said on Saturday.

“Mr Baguma is still in detention at RRU. [But] let us wait for the investigators to do their part,” she added. The latest row puts more pressure on Police regarding the conduct of high profile investigations.