By Patrick Jaramogi
It seems far from OVER! Though the Inspector General of Police Gen. Kale Kayihura’s statements were seen by many as a thwart to the Rwenzururu Kingdom with eminent beliefs that the cultural leader King Charles Wesley Omumbere Iremangoma would be nabbed in the bud, the kingdom has responded with a rather scathing attack.
Addressing the media in Kasese, the Kingdom spokesman said: “The Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu disassociates itself from any engagements of March 9th 2016 attacks in Kasenyi. This is a reaction to the IGP statements and press remarks regarding the skirmishes in Kasese.”
The Kingdom said they are neither a militia group nor a kirumiramutima (Hard Hearted) as stated by Kayihura. The IGP who visited Kasese on Saturday after the clashes and had closed door meetings with a section of security personnel said the Rwenzururu Kingdom was behind that attacks that saw scores of policemen and pockets of army injured and six civilians killed in the Kasenye attacks. Kayihura warned the Kingdom and called for their restrain on attacking armed security. Kayihura said that fact that four of the killed civilians were Rwenzururu Royal Guards was testimony enough for their involvement.
The IGPs earlier remarks
On the night of 10th March 2016, at 8pm, the day after the elections of LCIII Chairpersons, a joint motorised patrol of Police and UPDF, while patrolling lower Kendahi Cell, Kikongo ward in Hima Town Council, was attacked by over 30 persons armed with machetes, knives and clubs. Four soldiers were injured, two of them critically and the attackers tried to grab their guns.
In self-defense, the patrol opened fire on them killing two of them and forcing the rest to flee. The Injured soldiers were Cpl. Ssentongo Matia, L/Cpl Rwot Owengeyo, L/Cpl Katuramu Hannington and L/Cpl Moses Otube. These were rushed to the 2nd Division Hospital in Mbarara where two are still in critical condition.
Following the incident the RPC Rwenzori East informed of the situation and requested for reinforcements. I sent a team of Field Force Unit under the command of Commissioner of Police (CP) Jacob Opolot. On 11th March, at around 1:00pm, a team of police and UPDF officers led by CP Opolot, while on a pre-deployment assessment mission in Kasenyi Village, Buhurira Sub County, was attacked by a group of about 20 youths armed with machetes, knives and clubs.
They stabbed SPC Joel Mbusa, critically injuring and disarming him of his firearm. They also stoned CP Opolot and fractured his right leg. The security team fired shots in the air to scare them but the attackers were neat and became more aggressive. In self- defense, the team opened fire killing four attackers and recovered the gun.
The attackers who were killed were identified as Kake Ezekiel, Bwambale Sajin, Wayakwa James and Jokas Kirerembewa. What is common to them is that they were members of the militia group linked to obusinga bwa Rwenzururu a cultural institution calling themselves “Kirumiramutima” (strong hearted)
But in a rather tough rebuttal, the Kingdom Prime Minister Tembo Kisumbire said; “We are not are not happy as a kingdom about calling us militias and kirumiramutima. The remarks by the IGP were not researched but half-baked information. We appeal to government to get proper researched information and pass it on to the public rather than giving the public wrong information.”
“As a kingdom we are not party to that saga but it is just because some section of people are dragging us into it.”
Tembo Kisumbire explained that it was so unfortunate that the IGP visited Kasese but did not visit the scene of the clashes in Kasenye.
“The IGP in his Press statements states that following the incident the RPC Rwenzori East requested for reinforcement. That he ordered a one Commissioner of Police Jacob Opolot (Commander Field Force Unit) to head the reinforcement that was specifically requested for Hima Town Council where the election incident had happened.”
‘As a kingdom we wonder how it comes that the shootings happened in Kasenyi 25kms, from Hima and a place which had its elections peaceful. How come the skirmishes didn’t happen in Hima but Buhurira up in the mountains.” These are the answers we demand from government.
He said the IGP again states that the deployment was in Kasenyi yet he himself didn’t reach there. “The IGP didn’t bother to reach the place. He never bothered even when he came to meet the kingdom officials. The IGP does not tell us exactly what was happening in Kasenyi that necessitated deployment in Kasenyi. And to make the matters worse when the deployment went to Kasenyi that question remains to be answered by the IGP. He is telling us about the circumstance that happened in Hima LC III elections”
“If he says investigations are still going on, how comes he came out with a statement that the Kingdom is involved.”
He said that as a cultural institution they would like to inform the public that the attackers zeroed in on the royal guards because they had been grudges between the GISO (Gombolola Internal Security Operatives) of Buhurira being the sons of Kasenyi. The grudges according to the Kingdom saw each of the officials demanding for respect from the other.
The Investigator has established from highly placed intelligence sources that informers alerted police that the attackers of the police patrol vehicles patrolling Hima Town Council (a day before the Kasenye attacks) that left two attackers shot dead and scores of police injured had come from Kasenyi
“He (Jacob Opolot) took the police officers to a place that was very peaceful. They diverted the situation from Hima to Kasenyi; these guards were in their homes and in rare- civilian clothes. We demand an explanation from government regarding what happened in Kasenyi were we lost these Ugandans.”
The Kingdom explained that the people who were in Kasenyi, a peaceful place reacted when they saw a battle they didn’t expect prompting them to get involved in the fighting where the policemen were attacked and the others were shot dead.
“The IGP doesn’t mention the threats in Buruhira sub county. IGP was in closed meetings with people who are already biased until he left. Yet we were also longing to meet him and give him the information that we had also gathered.
“Even as of now as far as Kasese is concerned everybody is concerned regarding what happened. We have very many places in the districts where elections took place but we are still wondering why this happened in Kasenyi of all places,” he said.