Forty-five Rwandans, who are
detained at Nalufenya police detention centre in Jinja District, have been
charged with terrorism.
The Rwandans were arrested
two weeks ago in Kikagati in Isingiro District at the Uganda-Tanzania border
and transferred to Nalufenya for detention.
Police spokesperson Emilian
Kayima said they were moving with forged documents and identifications that
point to acts of terrorism.
“Forty-three suspects were
arrested on their way out of the country travelling on forged documents and
false identities. Two suspects were arrested in Kampala and were some of their
collaborators. Later, after questioning, police found that they are culpable of
more serious offences than forgery, including terrorism,” Mr Kayima said in a
statement issued out to the media yesterday.
He dismissed claims that
the suspects are Rwandan refugees. He said they are Rwandan nationals who
migrated to Uganda and were living in different parts of the country.
He said this was confirmed
by evidence and personal admissions.
“The investigating team has
completed investigations pending perusal and prosecution by the Director of
Public Prosecutions. The delay to appear in court has been to a large measure
due to the festive season,” Mr Kayima said.
The police explanation
follows publication a story by Daily Monitor yesterday in which the suspects,
through their lawyers of KOB Advocates and Solicitors, had petitioned Jinja
Chief Magistrate’s Court seeking an order to compel government to release them
unconditionally.
The lawyers said their
clients had been in police detention longer than is constitutionally allowed
and without being told their alleged crime.
The lawyers said the
suspects were Rwandan refugees from Nakivale settlement camp in Mbarara
District and comprised women and children. They said they were arrested while
travelling to Tanzania for a Christian fellowship and transferred to Nalufenya
in Jinja, about 350km away from the scene of arrest.
Mr Kayima said they were
detained in Nalufenya for jurisdiction considerations, and explained that
Nalufenya is a gazetted police facility.
No comments:
Post a Comment