UGANDA: Was Yusuf Kawooya tortured by Flying Squad "operatives"?

WAS YUSUF KAWOOYA TORTURED BY FLYING SQUAD "OPERATIVES"???

CHANGE OF GUARDS - Last week the Museveni regime Police Force terminated the operatives attached to the Flying Squad unit with immediate effect.  This was contained in a notice issued by the head of the Flying Squad Unit, DSSP Peter Kakonge.
According to the notice, services of “all those who have been working with Flying Squad as operatives” will no longer be needed.

The Flying Squad is one of the several units of the Museven regime Police charged with handling violent and organized crimes.  It consists of trained Police officers but has also been using civilians known as ‘operatives’.  These so-called operatives are mainly people with a history of criminality including thugs and robbers who had been integrated within the Police as informants to aid operations against criminals. Others are mere civilian individuals who hang around police officers for purposes of spotting potential victims of extortion.

The Museveni regime police has since time in memory run the so-called violent crack crime units that have excelled in gross human rights abuses.
In the 1990s, the Anti-Robbery Unit (ARU) was established but its operatives became so brutal that the Justice Julia Sebutinde-led commission of inquiry into the Force ordered that it be reformed.  Instead Museveni created the army-led Operation Wembley.  It was accused of gross human rights abuses including extra-judicial killings, torture and extortion.

When Gen Kalekyezi took over as police chief in November 2005, he re randed Operation Wembley as Violent Crime Crack Unit (VCCU).  It continued with the campaign of brutality before it was renamed Rapid Response Unit (RRU) continued with the brutal campaign of gross rights abuses.  It is the RRU that kidnapped and forcefully returned Rwandese refugees.

In 2013 the RRU was renamed Flying Squad and it operated alongside the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).  It continued with the brutal campaign of arbitrary arrests,  kidnaps, extra judicial killings, gruesome toture, detention without trial in safe houses etc.   The notorious Nalufenya Torture Chamber was its major safe house.  By February 2018 the police Professional Standards Unit was investigating 213 cases against FSU personnel lodged by both civilians and police officers, including torture, robbery and extortions.

Following the sacking of Gen. Kakekyezi, the new figure head police chief announced the disbandment of the unit in May 2018;
     "We no longer have the Flying Squad department. They will be reporting to Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Directorate (CIID) headquarters in Kampala. It has been removed like other police departments to reorganize the institution" sad the police Spokesman.

Museveni who was the major beneficiary of the Flying Squad brutal campaign ordered the new fugurehead IGP to reinstate the squad. Consequently, a month later the in early June, IGP appointed D/SSP Peter Kakonge was appointed to take over command of the Flying Squad.  In his June 2018 State of Security address to Parliament, Museveni confirmed that;
       "I have directed the Police to revive the 999 and the Flying Squad - only that this time, the Flying Squad will be a flying squad and not a crawling squad - by providing it by UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) - some of you know them as drones."

On October 18, a video clip recorded by Record TV circulated on social media showing five plain clothed security operatives armed with guns beating Kawooya in the center of Kampala city in broad daylight.  During the episode, they kept demanding from their victim;
     "Twagala mmotoka( we want the vehicle),”
as they hit him with gun butts repeatedly all over his body including the kidney area.
A number of people gathered in shock to watch the proceedings.

Museveni's Army and police forces initially denied any knowledge of the five security men.  A few days later, the Army Spokesperson released photos of the men appearing before a what was termed as a CMI disciplinary committee (CMI).  Without identifying the suspects i.e  their names, army numbers, unit, the five were charged with conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline. The army said they pleaded guilty to the charges, which carry a maximum punishment of disgraceful discharge.  Most intriguing is the fact that its now coming to a month and the sentence has never been disclosed.  Army and police spokespeople have refused to comment further on the matter, saying it is before the court.

The army released Kawooya on bond on condition that he reports to back to CMI on October 30 to claim his personal items and be informed about the status of his case.  Fearing the usual rearrest, upon release the traumatized Kawooya avoided exiting through the gate and was seen fidgeting to go through the iron bar fence to join his waiting family members.  CMI operatives had reportedly been interrogating him over alleged links to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, fraudulent land sales in the city and asked him about his association with Muslim sheikhs who have been implicated in assassinations of other Muslim clerics.  Obviously, these were trampled up charges meant to justify the brutal arrest.  During the arrest his captors were demanding for the car; an indication that it was something to do with the usual debt collection and settlement of business deals.  Unfortunately, Kawooya has also been mean with information pertaining to his nasty ordeal.

The public suspicion of a cover-up and even went further to express doubt as to whether the five who were paraded were were not different from those who were filmed torturing Kawooya.  On October 28 Museveni defended the brutal arrest thus;
       "The security person who was seen using a rifle butt may have made a mistake. When I inquired, the concerned people told me that the suspect had bitten him (okuruma ). That is very serious because some of the criminals have got infectious diseases. Our officer can be infected in that way and that should be an extra charge put on him."

While that marked the end of the matter, circumstantial evidence suggest a high likelihood of Kawooya having been arrested by operatives from the Flying Squad.  The tireless efforts to cover-up may have been designed to keep the operatives of the Flying Squad out of the picture.  This is because having been disbanded by the police chief, its Museveni who ordered for its reinstatement. It could be for the same reasons that during the so called trial by CMI's UDC the accused could neither be dressed in army uniform nor were their service numbers and ranks disclosed.

Therefore, in the circumstances, it most likely that the so called dismissal of Flying Squad operatives is in connection with and meant to further cover up the brutal arrest of Kawooya.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM