President Museveni Suspends Jinja RDC Sakwa for Two Months

President Museveni has directed Jinja Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Eric Sakwa to step aside for two months. This is to allow proper investigations into the manslaughter and theft charges against him in court.

“A Ugandan dying is very serious. It is in the interests of, first and foremost Sakwa, for facts to come out establishing the truth,” the President wrote.

President Museveni also directed investigators to establish whether RDC Sakwa was at the crime scene when the LDUs were beating mwanainchi ( the deceased ).

“That would be bad enough even if the mwanainchi didn’t die, violence by security forces should only be used in self-defence if a suspect is violent. Even then, it should be violence to subdue the suspect and arrest him, not anything else,” President Museveni noted.

“With the addition of death, it becomes very serious,” he maintained.

The president ordered that Sakwa steps aside for two months and he co-operates with the Director of Public Prosecutions plus the court systems to dig up the facts and come to a final judgment.

Eric Ssakwa was arrested and charged on Sunday April 26, for offences ranging from Manslaughter and theft. Saakwa was later on remanded to Kirinya prison until court granted him bail on April 29.

A few days after Ssakwa’s release, he was interdicted and ordered to instantly handover office to allow Court carry out proper investigations into the manslaughter and theft charges against him.

Ssakwa through his lawyer’s of Ochieng and Co Advocates ran to court challenging his interdiction.

RDC Saakwa argued that the interdiction letter was written by a one Hajji Yunus Kirunda, the Secretary of the president. Citing that there was no vivid evidence that his appointing authority, the president had okayed the move.

In the same vein, Sakwa said it was wrong to threaten him with interdiction from office yet rules of natural justice and procedure were never applied.

President Museveni’s order comes just a few days after the court had issued an interim order directing sakwa to stay in office until court makes a final judgment.

Kleive Calvin