The Uganda Police Flying Squad Unit (FSU) has been transferred to Naguru-based Directorate of Crime Intelligence under the charge of Lt Col Ndahura Atwooki Birakurataki, TheUgandan understands.
Lt Col Ndahura is a former commander in the Presidential Protection Unit (PPU), now Special Forces Command (SFC).
This comes after two top Police officers Joel Aguma and Nickson Agasirwe and other junior officers were charged with kidnap and illegal possession of ammunition. Intelligence reports intimated to us that the dual and others still on the run are accused of murder and robberies in the city and surrounding areas.
Now Police chief Gen Kale Kayihura who is facing the heat yesterday sent out a statement in the forces publication office and said he wants to have an effective CID, handing its elite component FSU to Lt Col Ndahura.
“I have started my new term (from November 10) by restructuring CID and with immediate effect I have removed FSU from CID and put it under DCI,” Kayihura said.
Lt. Col. Ndahura’s spies have been outstanding for their stealth style of work but constantly criticized for the way FSU, the investigation component that probes violent crimes under Grace Akullo’s Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) works.
Kayihura said he is also preparing to pay retired Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Scotland Yard spies to train Uganda’s CID officers.
Kayihura said there is a problem in CID that needs to be tackled. He was passing out hundreds of crime officers after six months training at Police training school in Masindi.
Under Akullo’s command, the FSU most recently swung in action and arrested CID, Anti-Narcotics department boss Tinka Zarugaba in connection with theft of seized cocaine at airport police stores in 2015. More senior officers including Aviation Police commandant Ludovic Awita and others are currently being detained at Nalufenya in Jinja District.
Crime Intelligence Directorate was established in June 2015 after a spate of violent crimes, which pointed to a lack of intelligence. It executes tasks the Special Branch used to carry out before it was dissolved.
Who is Lt Col Atwooki Ndahura?
Lt Col Ndahura has also been the chief of planning in the East African Standby Force.
In 2001, Lt Col Ndahura, then a captain in the presidential guard brigade, was accused of orchestrating election violence in Rukungiri District against Opposition supporters of Dr Kizza Besigye, who was contesting against President Museveni in that year’s general election. Lt Col Ndahura was also accused of fomenting violence against Kinkizi West constituency candidate, Mr James Garuga Musinguzi, when he was contesting against Mr Amama Mbabazi, former prime minister and now an Independent presidential aspirant for 2016.
Lt Col Ndahura’s name featured in various affidavits of witnesses during the hearing of Dr Besigye’s election petition in the Supreme Court as having commanded soldiers to beat and shoot at voters in Rukungiri.
In Dr Besigye’s interview ran between July 27 and 29, 2009, in the Observer newspaper, he said Lt Col Ndahura, who was the commander of the then PPU, was behind the killing of John Baronda in Rukungiri District, and that the army after that incident, promoted him to Lieutenant Colonel.
Lt Col Ndahura sued Dr Besigye, claiming the utterances were false and malicious.
However, the case was dismissed early this year after Lt Col Ndahura failed to appear or send his lawyers to prosecute the case.
