The Anti-Corruption Court has ordered for the immediate arrest of a Commissioner of Police; Siraje Bakaleke after defying two sets of Court summons requiring him to appear and answer to 12 counts relating to defrauding of three Korean nationals.
Grade One Magistrate Moses Nabende has this morning issued the warrant of arrest on the request of Prosecution’s Harriet Angom who informed court that Bakaleke was on September 17, 2018 through his lawyers from Senguka Robert and Nakachwa Partners duly served with summons requiring him to appear in court today, but neither him or his lawyers have made an appearance.
ACP Bakaleke together with six other senior police officers are accused of having conniving to wrongfully arrest and confine the 3 Koreans on false suspicions of terrorism and money laundering.
The rest of the eight persons have complied with court summons and are right now in court listening to the charges that include abuse of office, kidnap, embezzlement and obtaining money by false pretense.
Bakaleke and eight others are accused of allegedly extorting Shs 1.4 billion from two South Korean nationals Park Seunghoon and Jang Shingu Un.
The two came to Uganda looking for gold amounting to $1.5 million, early this year. However, they were arrested from Acacia Mall in Kampala; where they were due to meet their lawyer Paul Wanyoto. Reports indicate that on the day of the meeting, the dealers were surrounded by security operatives, put at gunpoint and asked to hand over the money in their possession.
A total of Shs 1.4 billion was handed over to the police officers before the two South Koreans were arrested and detained at Katwe police station.
They were later told that they were facing terrorism charges and would be deported. It later turned out that the deployment had been sanctioned by Bakaleke after a tipoff from the lawyer who indicated that two of his clients were involved in dubious activities and he had a suspicion that they were financial terrorists.
