B y Damba Rogers.
The Inspector General of Police, Mr Martins Okoth-Ochola, has suspended the former commander of Kampala Metropolitan Police South Assistant Commissioner of Police Siraj Bakaleke and four other officers over allegations of illegal arrest of South Korean nationals and robbery.
Through the Director of Police Administration, Mr Moses Balimwoyo, Mr Ochola ordered ACP Bakaleke, Assistant Superintendent of Police Herbert Akankwasa, Detective Inspector Robert Ray Asiimwe, Constable Drover Robert Ayebare and Constable Kenneth Zirintusa to hand over office immediately.
The deputy police spokesperson, Mr Patrick Onyango, confirmed the suspension of the officers.
Confirmed
“It is true that the officers have been suspended to allow smooth investigation of their cases,” Mr Onyango said yesterday but declined to reveal details.
The officers are being investigated on allegations of unlawful arrest and confiscation of property belonging to the South Korean nationals.
The South Koreans identified as Park Seunghoon and Jang Shingu Un were to meet some gold dealers at Acacia Mall in Kampala where their lawyer had set up the meeting.
One of the South Koreans allegedly told Uganda Police officers that at Acacia Mall they were surrounded by security operatives, who put them on gunpoint and ordered them to hand over the money.
The victims were arrested and driven to Entebbe International Airport where they were deported.
Police Flying Squad Unit has since failed to recover the said money.
Allegations
ACP Bakaleke and four officers are said to have intercepted South Korean nationals, from whom they allegedly extorted Shs1.4 billion ($400,000) before they deported them in February this year.
The South Koreans later reported the case to Ugandan authorities prompting an investigation by Flying Squad Unit.
