Soldiers raid Wakiso police, order commander to undress

There was commotion and tension at Wakiso Police Division on Monday evening when soldiers, reportedly attached to the presidential taskforce on Land Matters and Environment led by Brig Moses Lukyamuzi, stormed the station and demanded the release of detained suspects.

The soldiers are said to have placed the division police commander (DPC), SP Esther Kiiza, at gunpoint, ordering her to undress in an incident that escalated into a heated standoff.

“They came and ordered me to undress. They claimed I had defied orders. I asked them whose orders I had defied. They insisted I needed to remove the uniform because I was under arrest,” Kiiza said.

Her defiant response raised alarm, prompting 13 police officers who had witnessed the soldiers enter the DPC’s office to cock their guns and surround the office, ready to defend their commander.

Faced with imminent confrontation, the 10 soldiers reportedly fled the scene, driving off in their vehicles. The officer in charge of the station (OC) swiftly alerted Kampala North regional police commander (RPC), SSP Moses Nanoka, who coordinated with Kakiri military barracks for reinforcement.

A few minutes later, Nanoka, accompanied by a team of soldiers, arrived at Wakiso Police Division but were informed that the soldiers had just left the station, and a chase was launched.

“We were able to surround the soldiers’ vehicles at Yesu Amala. They refused to get out of the cars, claiming they needed to receive orders from their superiors. We refused to entertain that explanation and arrested them,” Nanoka reportedly explained in a briefing sent to the Kampala Metropolitan police headquarters.

The apprehended soldiers were not taken to the police station but were instead transported to Kakiri military barracks for further handling. This incident comes barely a month after a similar raid at Lubowa police station, where Special Forces Command (SFC) soldiers, led by Lt Samson Amo, reportedly beat up police officers and civilians at the station.

Amo had allegedly ordered ASP Innocent Sunday, the station commander, to detain suspects without proper charges. When Sunday refused, he was slapped repeatedly, and officers who came to his aid were also assaulted.

Although police filed aggravated robbery charges against Amo and his men, the case has since stalled, reportedly because SFC has not handed the suspects over for prosecution.