Former Ugandan Crime Intelligence Director Col Atwooki Ndahura Convicted, Waits Sentencing

Former Director of Crime Intelligence in police, Col Atwooki Ndahura, has been convicted after he pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing in the military court, according to information presented to the High Court by the Attorney General yesterday.

Col Ndahura was expected to appear in court yesterday following the High Court order last week to compel the army to produce him.

However, when the case came up in the High Court yesterday, Ms Genevieve Kampiire from the Attorney General’s office presented a charge sheet from the army court to Justice Musa Ssekaana who had ordered the Chief of Defence Forces Gen David Muhoozi to produce Col Ndahura yesterday.

The document showed that Col Ndahura had pleaded guilty to charges of interfering with the process of law before a military court at Mbuya chaired by Col Tom Kabuye and sent to Makindye Military Prison until July 13 for sentencing

“We now know what he is being charged with, initially we did not know what he was being held for and according to the charge sheet, it shows he (Col Ndahura) pleaded guilty and now awaiting sentencing,” Justice Ssekaana said reading from the document. Prosecution states that between February and March 2018, while at Police Crime Intelligence headquarters in Bugolobi, Kampala, Col Ndahura fabricated evidence– a document containing a list of Rwandan refugees– justifying their kidnap and deportation back to Kigali Kigali yet the case was still under prosecution in the General Court Martial under UPDF/GCM/ 019/2017; Uganda versus ASCP, Joel Aguma, ASP Nickson Agasirwe and 7 others.
A person convicted of the aforementioned offence is liable to imprisonment not exceeding seven years.

Controversy

However, Col Nadahura’s lawyer Mr Evans Ochieng disputed the Attorney General’s statement to the High Court.
He said he was shocked to see the document from the army disciplinary court showing that his client had pleaded guilty.

“I met Col Ndahura on Saturday at Makindye Military Prison and he informed me that he had asked to answer to the charges being read to him in the presence of his lawyers, but he was denied and thus did not say anything,” Mr Ochieng said.
Adding: “I will go and visit him on Wednesday where he will give us all facts and from there we shall give him the options we have before we proceed to court to challenge these falsehoods.”

Last week Justice Ssekaana gave five days to Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi to produce Col Ndahura in any court of law after spending two weeks in military detention without trial. “The applicant [Col Ndahura] has not been produced in any court or tribunal, this is a proper case where court should issue a habeas corpus [production warrant] ordering the persons holding the body of the applicant to produce him it in court. The court accordingly issues an habeas corpus and the same shall return on July 2,” Justice Musa Ssekaana ordered.

The order followed an application by Col Ndahura’s wife Ms Sarah Ndahura who accused the army of unjustly depriving her husband of his personal liberty.

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Source: The Monitor

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