Kampala, (UG):- Police in Kampala have confirmed holding in custody one Ronald Iduuli, a member of the legal team representing veteran opposition stalwart, Dr Kizza Besigye, hours after his abduction by men in army uniform in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
Iduuli, a retired UPDF officer at the rank of Major was arrested as he planned to head to the General Court Martial where the four-time presidential candidate made appearance alongside his co-accused Hajj Obeid Kamulegeya.
In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Patrick Onyango confirmed having in custody the 50-year-old lawyer who he said faces charges of threatening violence.
“On December 10, 2024, at approximately 9 am, police in Wakiso received a report from Lydia Kabira, a 44-year-old nurse and resident of Kireka-Bbira village, regarding a case of threatening violence by one of her tenants. According to the complainant, the suspect, identified as Ronald Iduuli, a 50-year-old lawyer, had been renting a house from her for three years. ” Onyango said.
However, he [Iduuli] had defaulted on rent payments for the past 10 months and recently began “appearing in UPDF uniform and threatening the landlord, prompting her to become suspicious,”.
Onyango explained that the operation to arrest Iduuli was jointly conducted by police and UPDF officers and is not in any way related to the Besigye case.
“A search of his residence 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,” the police statement added.
The development comes hours after the Uganda Law Society (ULS) issued a statement condemning the “abduction of Maj (rtd) Ronald Iduuli, a prominent lawyer” and member of their society.
“The brazen invasion of Iduuli’s home in Bulenga, Wakiso District, at 4 am is a blatant attempt to intimidate and silence our member, and by extension, the entire legal profession. We will not be cowed. We demand that the authorities take immediate action to ensure Iduuli’s safe release and bring the perpetrators to justice,” read a statement issued by ULS President Isaac Ssemakadde.
“We call upon the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the UPDF authorities, in particular, to investigate this matter thoroughly and provide us with a detailed report,” it added.
Maj (rtd) Iduuli who joined UPDF in 1998, served as a defense lawyer at the General Court Martial from 2014 to July 25, 2016, before he was forcefully retired from the army in the same year.
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