The Police Disciplinary Court has further remanded former Buyende District Police Commander Muhammad Kirumira to Railway Police cells for another four days pending a ruling on his bail application.
Kirumira had applied for bail on grounds that he had learnt his lesson, would abide by the directions of the court not to interfere with witnesses and his pregnant wife needed his support.
However, the Disciplinary court chairman Denis Odongpiny declined to rule on the application saying the court needed more time to be sure that Kirumira’s conduct has changed.
“We need more time to be sure that you will remain this well behaved. Keep behaving well then on Tuesday I will give the ruling,” Odongpiny said before adjourning the case to February 13, 2018.
Kirumira, who is facing charges of extortion, corruption, bribery, unlawful arrest and excessive use of authority, was arrested on Thursday, last week and remanded to the Railway Police Station, a designated detention facility for senior police officers.
He was however picked from there by Operatives of the Flying Squad Unit and taken to Nalufenya. He used today’s court session to contest his detention at Nalufenya saying it is a facility for high profile criminals. The court agreed that he was wrongly detained in Nalufenya which was not the place of remand recognized by the court.
CHARGES DROPPED
Earlier, the police tribunal withdrew the charge of torture and unlawful use of excessive authority against Muhammad Kirumira the former Buyende District Police Commander.
Kirumira had been charged with the torture of Pius Kato and Paul Ochaya during his tenure as the officer in charge of Nansana Police station in 2014. He is alleged to have removed the two suspects from cells, undressed them, beaten them and later cut off the right-hand thumb of Pius Kato.
But Prosecution led by Catherine Bamusemereirwe asked the disciplinary court chairman Denis Odongpiny to withdraw the charges on ground that one of the victims died while another is untraceable.
“I called Kato’s wife and she informed me that he was dead. As for Paul Ochaya, I have failed to get his contact since it was not included in the statement, “Bamusemereirwe told Court. Kato was shot dead by Flying Squad operatives during a foiled robbery in Bweyogerere.
The prosecution also went ahead to withdraw the charge of irregular conduct where Kirumira is alleged to have conducted an interview with Milton Tumusiime, a journalist working with red pepper at the time in which he abused the Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura.
According to the prosecution, the charge cannot hold given that the journalist refused to be a witness against Kirumira.
“I called him but he told me that he was Kirumira’s good friend and cannot testify against him and if he is forced to testify, he would turn into a hostile witness,” Bamusemereirwe said.
