Police Summons Observer Reporter Over Rwanda Story, Grilled For 4Hrs!

By Andrew Irumba

Police’s media crime Department at Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Hq in Kibuli on Tuesday summoned and grilled Observer reporter Mr.Sirajje Lubwama over a story that a group of Rwandese living in Uganda were planning to attack president Paul Kagame’s Government in Rwanda basing from Uganda.

According to Police,Mr.Lubwama revealed this highly classified and ‘sensitive’ information on 9^th July 2018 while on hosted on Bugingo’s Television station Salt Tv “Ffe Munnyo”.

“Inquiries are being conducted under the above quoted reference whereby you were allegedly on salt Television on 9^th July 2018 between 2200hrs and 2300hrs where you comented that you received information that there are Rwandese nationals who are planning to go and attack the government of Rwanda and as a result,Ugandan Government had deployed 1971 UPDF soldiers at DRC boarder.

You are therefore,in pursuance of the provisions of section 27A of the police act(as amended) required to report before the commissioner media crimes department at CID HQ Kibuli on Tuesday 24^th July 2018 at 1000hrs in regard to that regard”,read police letter addressed to Sirajje Lubwama.

Appearing before the media crime Department at CID Kibuli on Tuesday, Mr.Lubwama told TheSpy Uganda reporter that the CID officers on arrival in their ‘grilling room’ demanded him to divulge into the details of how he got that ‘sensitive’ information and also demanded that he discloses his sources.

In company of his two lawyers, Lisa Femia and Akera Derrick Otim from Human Rights Network for Journalists (HRNJ), Lubwama vehemently opposed the move arguing that the law protects his sources. “They asked where I got the information, I told them from my (his) sources, then they asked me to reveal the sources, I told them the law protects my sources, all you should do is to verify whether it’s true or not, but I’m not the one to give you ‘tools’ of verification of the story,” Lubwama reportedly said.

He said police neither charged him nor jailed him but told him that they (Police) would call him again when they need him.

Last year, Redpepper, the pepper that ‘Talks Sense’ was closed down and all the 5 directors and three senior editors jailed for months in Luzira prisons for running a similar story about Rwanda. President Museveni pardoned them months later to resume operations.