MP Ssemujju criticizes gov’t over arrest of FDC members in Kenya

Kira Municipality Member of Parliament, Hon. Ibrahim Ssemujju, has castigated government over the recent arrest of members of opposition party, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), in neighboring Kenya.

Thirty-six FDC leaders were last Tuesday arrested in Kisumu, Kenya and have since been charged with terrorism in Ugandan courts and remanded to Luzira prison.

Ssemujju questioned the legality of the arrest of Ugandans in Kenya during plenary sitting on Thursday 01 August 2024.

“One of the 36 kidnapped is actually a registered refugee in Kenya, there was no extradition order, they were attending a leadership training,” he said adding that “Some of them were brutalised during the kidnapping. We want to ask government to tell us, under which arrangement did they go to Kenya to kidnap FDC leaders.”

Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka refuted claims of kidnap, saying that the suspects were lawfully arrested and have been charged before the Ugandan courts of law.

“If there are any issues of them being beaten [or] wrongly arrested, they can be raised in court at the appropriate time, and we have laws to deal with such. If in fact a person was tortured at the time of their arrest, that case will be dismissed. That is a good defense that you can put before the court,” he added.

Ssemujju however contended that his issue was government’s disregard of bilateral relations, questioning the legal basis upon which Ugandan security operatives carried out the arrest in another country.

“I have not complained that they were charged, I am talking about bilateral matters that you can walk into Kenya and kidnap people. Under what arrangement did you go to a Catholic church in Kenya and kidnap people and bring them without necessary legal documents. That is not a matter of court,” he said.

Kiryowa Kiwanuka in his response said, “Even the manner in which people are collected, if at all from a neighboring country or another country is prescribed by law and we are saying that these people were charged, they are properly before court and if you think the procedure was not done properly, then you can actually be a good witness to support their release.”