Embattled former Buyende DPC Muhammad Kirumira’s incarceration is temporarily over.
Kirumira has been released by a Police court in Naguru, Kampala on bail over charges of extortion, unlawful exercise of authority and corruption after after he presented Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Sam Omala as his surety.
There were scuffles between police and journalists this morning at the Police Disciplinary Court, where Kirumira was making an appearance.
On arrival, journalists were informed that they would not be permitted to attend today’s court session.
This led to confrontation, and in an attempt to deny them entry and prevent them from taking pictures, police officers started chasing the reporters with sticks, and apprehended some of them.
At his previous appearance before the police disciplinary court, Kirumira burst into a tirade of rage over what he called harsh bail terms set by the court and there was a scuffle with police officers as he tried to storm out of the court in protest. The dramatic episode was widely covered by the media.
Last week the maverick police officer, who has since announced his resignation from the police force, stormed out of the police court in protest against the stringent bail conditions set by the court chairman, Denis Odongpiny. He asked to be taken back to the dreaded Nalufenya police detention facility where he’d been held for two weeks following his dramatic arrest on February 1.
On February 6, Kirumira, dragged the Attorney General to court, seeking to be unconditionally released from jail on grounds that his detention was unconstitutional, illegal and unlawful.
His lawyers argue that Kirumira has been deprived of his personal liberty because he is being detained by the Police tribunal, which has no power to remand or detain a Police officer before the disciplinary trial is concluded.
