By Spy Uganda
Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde, who is contesting for presidency in 2021, faces life imprisonment after he was charged with treason, following his arrest on Thursday evening.
According to a statement released by police spokesperson CP Fred Enanga, Gen. Tumukunde was arrested on treason charges and urging Rwandan President Paul Kagame to support forces that want to oust President Yoweri Museveni.
Enanga’s Statement about Tukukunde’s arrest reads thus;
“We would like to inform the public that on the 12.03.2020, at around 7pm, a joint security task team led by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, arrested Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde for alleged Treason.
dHis premises at Kololo were secured for further search this morning, for any additional evidence of material value.
The arrest follows his utterances in a series of radio and television interviews, which seek to foster hatred that might lead to inter-community violence, fomenting and glorifying violence in general.
He in addition, calls on the support of a neighboring country to support him in removing the current leadership with or without the ballot.
He is therefore, being charged under Sections 23 (2) b and 23 (3) b, of the Penal code Act, which deals with instigating persons to invade the Republic of Uganda and inciting any persons to make a mutinous assembly.
As always our number one priority is the safety and security of all Ugandans. And we would like to thank our task teams for their swift action, upon recognizing the impact of the inflammatory and provocative rhetoric by the suspect on members of the Armed forces and the wider public.
This should also act as a deterrent to others who would like to promote views that seek to naturalize violence in our country, Uganda.
Gen Tumukunde’s Lawyer Speaks Out
However, his lawyer Alex Luganda, said the utterances made by Gen Tumukunde are clear and are within the confines of the law and do not in any way tantamount to treason.
Luganda said that Gen Tumukunde has never called for war in any of the utterances he made, adding that the state has its own motive.
Luganda said that “It is based on his appearance on NBS TV on March 4, where in his interview he said in his opinion that if he was Rwanda, he would support people seeking for change in Uganda.
He never at any one time called for war, but it is the police and other agencies that are creating their offence which is clear and known.”
We have established that Gen Tumukunde has since been transferred to Special Investigations Unit in Kireka.
