KAMPALA
President Museveni yesterday said Speaker Rebecca
Kadaga will help the police with investigations into the death of
Butaleja Woman MP Cerinah Nebanda, and ordered a judicial inquest into
the legislator’s death.
Describing the people who accuse his government of
killing Nebanda as “idiots” and “fools” at a press conference in
Kampala, the President criticised a section of NRM outspoken legislators
for “conniving” with Dr Sylvester Onzivua, the forensic pathologist, to
“steal” the samples.
Dr Onzivua was working with MPs and the family but
was arrested as he set out to fly to South Africa with body samples. He
was detained for two days and released on police bond last week. The
President said the family can request for an independent investigation
but they “must” use police samples.
Mr Museveni said the results show Nebanda died as a
result of taking drugs and requested the Nebanda’s mother to be
“courageous” and face the truth. He said the drugs could have been taken
knowingly or unknowingly.
The President said what cannot be contested is
that the deceased was in company of “drug sellers” or “drug users”. He
said police arrested drug dealers whom he said were Adam Kalungi’s
associates. Adam Kalungi, who is wanted by the Force in connection with
Nebanda’s death, was her boyfriend.
But responding to a question on whether Ms Kadaga
will be questioned for disputing the government’s preliminary autopsy
and toxicology findings which linked Nebanda’s death to cocaine and
narcotic drugs, Mr Museveni said: “If Kadaga knows who killed Nebanda,
police will ask her.” “If she knows what we don’t know, she will
[definitely] tell the police and the coroner [a government official who
confirms and certifies the death of an individual within a
jurisdiction].” We could not get a comment from Ms Kadaga because her
phone was switched off.
Mr Museveni, who vowed to fight his critics in the
same way he did for the former president Idi Amin, said he sent samples
to laboratories in Israel and was still waiting for results. “I have
nothing but contempt for those who have been peddling lies that NRM
could have had a hand in Nebanda’s death,” he said. He added: “Yes, we
kill [our enemies], but we only kill those armed enemies in combat.
Anybody who says we killed Nebanda is an idiot, a foo.” They will know
what it means to fight NRM.” He said Nebanda was a “chicky” legislator
manipulated by “crooks”.
Mr Museveni advised parents to watch over the
children and be retained as “consultants”. He said the role of detecting
and preventing crime lay with only the police. The President told MPs
that they do not have powers to stop police investigations and warned
Parliament against habouring criminals.
The President was criticising MPs who spent a
night in Parliament to evade police arrest in connection with Nebanda’s
death. On Sunday, the President’s condolence message was torn to pieces,
government officials forced to flee for their safety, and their cars
pelted with crude missiles, as the burial of Nebanda turned rowdy. The
President blamed intelligence for failure to detect the chaos.
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