The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | After more than two years of police reportedly searching for its own two Assistant Commissioners of Police –ACPs on the run , Jonathan Baroza and Siraje Bakaleke, Interpol –Uganda has disclosed that the two senior officers are not on its list of wanted persons.
Senior Commissioner of Police Charles Birungi, who is the Acting Interpol Director, has told Uganda Radio Network –URN that they have never received any official communication indicating that Bakaleke and Baroza are wanted persons.
Bakaleke’s photo was publicized in newspapers in April 2019 as being wanted by Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court. The announcement that was signed by Police Spokesperson, Fred Enanga, indicated that Bakaleke was needed for offences of abuse of office, conspiracy to defraud, kidnap with intent to confine a person and conspiracy to commit a felony.
“ACP Bakaleke Siraje whose photograph appears above is wanted by the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court for the offences of abuse office, conspiracy to defraud, kidnap with intent to confine a person and conspiracy to commit a felony of the Anti-Corruption Division Kampala criminal case n0 0095/2018 and AVIPOL CRB 047/2018,” Enanga stated.
Baroza, who became famous as one of the blue eyed boys of then Inspector General of Police, Gen Edward Kale Kayihura, was declared a deserter after he refused to return to Uganda when the police chief was replaced.
At the time when president Yoweri Museveni sacked Gen Kayihura and replaced him with his deputy Martin Ochola, ACP Baroza had been sent to Algeria as police attaché. Ochola who was appointed on March 4, 2018 immediately recalled ACP Baroza but he did not return as was subsequently declared a deserter which is a criminal offence.
Later on, security agencies among others Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence –CMI, External Security Organization –ESO, Criminal Investigations Directorate –CID, Special Forces Command –SFC and Uganda People Defence Forces –UPDF launched a hunt for all senior officers suspected to have committed atrocities during Gen Kayihura’s reign.
Gen Kayihura alongside 26 senior and police officers and civilians were arrested and charged in the General Court Martial. Baroza was one the officers who were reportedly wanted and it was reported that a team was sent to search for him in Algeria but their efforts were fruitless.
But Birungi told URN that despite all those events having happened years back, Interpol has never received any communication from CID or Director of Public Prosecution –DPP indicating that Bakaleke and Baroza are needed over particular crimes.
Investigations revealed that Bakaleke and other junior police personnel were unlawfully expatriating Koreans Park Seunghoon and Jang Shingu Un after allegedly extorting 1.4 billion shillings from the duo.
Bakaleke’s juniors pinned him during investigations that he was the first person to get information about Koreans’ gold transactions and directed his juniors to have them arrested and their money taken.
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