Men donned in military fatigue have stormed the home of activist Moses Kayz Osiya, one of the master minders of the 2024 March to Parliament protests in search of him and his family.
Osiya was given a police bond sometime in July 2024 but absconded the bond terms and conditions granted to him. This prompted the force to storm his house without an arrest warrant in search for him.
His brother staying in the house was shocked by the police presence in the compound around 3 am on January 29. He says he first heard the dogs barking signalling the probable thieves’ presence around the house.
“I woke up and got hold of a machete preparing to confront the thieves if any. On opening the door, I was welcomed by dogs wagging their tails and the strange presence of several policemen in the compound,” he said.
He explains that the men in uniform told him they had orders from above to check Osiya’s house and asked him not to resist for it would land them into trouble but direct them to his room.
When they accessed the house, some went to the kitchen, others behind the house, while others went to check the different bedrooms.
“I was shocked, scared and I did not know what to do. My wife, maid, and all those we were with in the house were scared because we were ordered out. The police had a very strange and sharp torch searching the house,” he shared.
He adds: “The one in charge asked us the whereabouts of Osiya saying they had recovered an AK 47 gun inside the house and wanted to know who owned it. We had no answer and we were puzzled about the whole situation.”
The brother explains that they were given an ultimatum of 90 days to produce Osiya dead or alive, before promising to return unannounced at a later time.
Not the army or police?
When the family tried to follow the matter at Wakiso Police Station, the officers could not give them information about storming Osiya’s house as they claimed not to be aware of the operation.
They claimed not to have ordered anybody in that direction and they do not normally carry out such operations at night.
However, one officer who spoke on the conditions of anonymity stated that Osiya is wanted for several crimes including unlawful assembly, owning a weapon, cyber harassment against the Chief of Defense Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba Muhoozi, treason, and jumping police bond.
The officer further confirmed that these were politically motivated crimes and that they were acting on the orders from above.
However, when we followed the matter to Osiya’s home, a neighbour who preferred anonymity intimated to us that she had not seen Osiya and his family for quite some time, ever since he took part in the July 2024 March to Parliament protests.
Another neighbour, Samuel Ojok said he last saw Osiya around September 2024, thereafter, he saw several unknown people moving at night and day and these were new faces in the village. These he believes are security forces spying on Osiya.
Certainly, we tried calling Osiya on his known telephone numbers but efforts to reach him were futile and his whereabouts are not known.
Background:
Last year in July, businessman Moses Kayz Osiya, confessed to having unknown people trail him using a particular vehicle, but he was not in a position to take note of the number plate of the vehicle following him around.
According to Osiya then, the unknown people had followed him home and business premises in Nansana, a Kampala Suburb, saying they had also thrown his family into panic mode.
“I wonder why this is happening. The issues we are raising through the march were valid. Why not just put them into consideration rather than wasting time trailing me who is making them known to you? We are slowly slipping into a situation where we are not sure what is happening to us,” Osiya wondered.
He added that his daily activities were being monitored by a network of people who posture themselves as clients of his businesses.
“I received a call that they had been at my business in Nansana asking my employees about my schedule. I want the dubious activities against me by security agents stopped with immediate effect and my safety and security guaranteed. I believe this is a strong intrusion on my fundamental rights.”
Osiya’s stance on the anti-corruption march has been loud as he has on several occasions called out people to act where they feel misrepresented or cheated by their leaders to hold them accountable.
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