KAMPALA- Police have confirmed the arrest of Retired Major Ronald Iduuli, a 50-year-old lawyer and member of Dr. Kizza Besigye’s defense team, on charges related to threatening violence against his landlady.
Retired Major Iduuli, was meant to join the defense team for Dr. Kizza Besigye and Abed Lutaale Kamulegeya, who are facing charges of unlawful possession of ammunition and firearms in court martial earlier today. However, Iduuli failed to appear in court today, as he was arrested before leaving his house.
Information about his missing was raised by other members of Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye’s legal team at court martial, who said that he was abducted. According to lawyer Eron Kiiza, Major Iduli was picked up from his home in Bulenga around 4:00 am this morning by military personnel, accompanied by police officers.
Kiiza explained that this was not an arrest, but rather a kidnapping, as the process did not follow formal procedures required for an arrest. He was informed of the incident by Major Iduli’s close relatives, who described it as abduction.
However, ithe Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, said the lawyer and resident of Kireka-Bbira village in Wakiso district was arrested in a joint UPDF and Police operation, following reports of his threatening violence to his landlady, after defaulting on rent payments for the past 10 months.
The police has since said that recently, the suspect allegedly began appearing in UPDF uniform and threatening his landlady, Lydia Kabira, a 44-year-old nurse, prompting her to become suspicious and reported to Police.
‘Upon the search of his house, security have uncovered several items, including a pair of UPDF digital uniforms, a handbook on the law of war for armed forces, a certificate of discharge from UPDF dated 2016, and a pen labelled “People’s Front for Freedom.” Onyango said.
Onyango said the suspect is currently detained at Bulenga Police Station on charges of threatening violence as inquiries are ongoing.
In 2018, Major Iduli won a case against the government after being forcibly retired from the UPDF. The High Court, presided over by Judge Margaret Oumo Oguli, awarded him over 700 million Ugandan Shillings in compensation for lost income following his wrongful retirement. The court found that Iduli’s dismissal was illegal, unconstitutional, and malicious.
