{UAH} TELL THIS WOMAN BLAME NOBODY BUT HER DRUG SNIFFING DGHTER
|
1:56 PM |
No comments |
It was an intended death, Cerinah Nebanda's mother insists
Are you satisfied with the acquittal of Dr Onzivua and Dr Baryomunsi?
I'm very happy they have been relieved of these cases because at first when we heard of these things, we thought it was done in a proper way. But suddenly things turned around, which means there was somebody who had an interest … and was giving wrong information.
What exactly do you mean by 'things turned around' ?
At first when [Cerinah] Nebanda passed away, we were with the Inspector General of Police [Kale Kayihura] at Nsambya.
I don't know how he came to know about it [death] because when we asked him to tell us how he knew that Nebanda had died from that hospital, he was giving us vague information … but it was a shock to us, so we didn't mind much when Nebanda's body was taken to Mulago [hospital] before the postmortem was done. After that, Kayihura came up with a statement that Nebanda had died from drugs.
I really wondered when I saw the big headline [in the press] since we were still waiting for the postmortem report from Mulago. I rang Mulago to find out whether the postmortem was ready, but they told me 'no', they hadn't done anything [and] were waiting for the doctors.
What came to your mind after that?
From that time, I knew that something had gone wrong with this girl. It must have been an intended death, not by mistake as the IGP claimed. So, we tried to consult with the press … and they told us that it was the IGP Kayihura who told them that Nebanda had died from drugs.
We tried to call him and even in front of the President we demanded to know from him how he had got that information. He didn't have an answer. So, I thought that the IGP had an interest in the death and I'm sure he knows exactly what happened to Nebanda.
As a family, have you been given a copy of the findings from the UK [autopsy]?
They have not given us any copy of those findings but we are sure they are not conclusive at all. This means that some people had interest in the whole thing; it is the IGP who went and told the president all this.
He was the one who furnished the president with the wrong information; so, he [Museveni] should be cautious with the information he gets from those people.
He is giving them promotions but they are giving him wrong information, they are looking for favours because if somebody says that Dr Onzivua was not in the operation room, that they smuggled these parts, whereas it was a full team there with policemen… I wonder how one person could steal those parts when all of them were looking on!
Are you satisfied with how Nebanda's death was investigated?
At first things were moving okay, but they turned the other way round.
Who suggested that an independent team should be headed by Dr Onzivua?
It was Parliament and it was in touch with the family.
Why did you opt for an independent team yet there was an investigation by government?
That is where we were expecting the real truth on how Nebanda died to come from, although Kayihura tried to smuggle one of my family members onto the government team. We said how do you pick somebody without consulting the family?
So, that person was stopped in Nairobi and came back, and we said we were not going to accept those results and our person [Onzivua], whom we were relying on to give us true information, was arrested twice at Entebbe airport and even the specimens were snatched from him by police and, I think on the orders of the IGP because he is the one who had interest in the whole thing.
Did Kayihura have any personal differences with Nebanda or any member of your family?
That much I don't know, but I saw him developing some serious interest, trying to distort whatever was going on. So, I came to conclude that he had an interest in that thing. Being the Inspector General of Police, Kayihura acts on behalf of government.
Would you conclude that government had a hand in Nebanda's death?
You know when the government entrusts you to do some work, it is you to give the report but, to my surprise, Kayihura was giving a wrong report to government.
Were Adam Kalungi and Cerinah Nebanda in love?
My girls told me that they wondered whether Cerinah loved that boy because whenever men approached her, she wasn't too hostile to them, but instead turned them into friends.
That is the answer I got from my girls, and that is what I told the investigators, but because they did not have interest in [that line], it was overlapped completely. I didn't hear of it again.
How long was their relationship before her death?
Cerinah [used] to go to Kalangala for workshops but I can't tell which time they connected with Kalungi, but it could be the first workshop which took place around the beginning of the year [2012].
As a mother, how do you describe Nebanda's conduct?
She was social, very talkative and very helpful to others because I remember one time when she was still at [Makerere] university and there was an insurgency in the northern region and some students remained stranded [in their hostels]; she would ask me why we don't help those students to go back to their homes. She could facilitate them.
As a parent, were you happy with the way she handled business in Parliament, her link to rebel MPs?
Nebanda did not have any problem with anybody in government. Anyway, she could sometimes come back home with a headache, saying 'mum, in Parliament we discuss things with people but when we reach the floor of the house, they turn around.
It seems they don't want to help so there is a very big problem in Parliament ….' She told me that she did not go to Parliament for the sake of money but to see that things are done in the right way.
Were you supportive of her political work and did you bother to advise her in her parliamentary work?
At times I urged her to tell the truth, [but] not to step on too many people's toes - and to be careful. She would reduce at times but on reaching Parliament she would get annoyed after seeing people tell lies.
What would you like to see now that court has acquitted Dr Onzivua and Dr Baryomunsi?
I want a fresh investigation into Nebanda's death by Scotland Yard, because the family and all Ugandans would like to know what killed her, how, and the culprits punished. The truth will come out.
I would also say that the president should dismiss Kayihura; according to what happened in court, he never did much. Can you imagine that at one time when we were still in the village, he called us and said: 'Now I have talked to Kalungi, he has said that if he is charged with manslaughter, he will come out and if he's charged with murder, he won't'. I don't know what transpired but I think they agreed that come and be charged with manslaughter.
Why do you want Kayihura to be sacked/resign?
He has given the wrong information to the public and his resignation will save too many cases. Maybe he stage-managed Kalungi's room.
I told them that my interest was in what was found in Cerinah's stomach and not what was seen in Kalungi's room because somebody might have placed the posho there. I [also] want to get a satisfactory explanation about what happened [to Nebanda] and why Dr Onzivua was stopped from doing investigations [in South Africa].
Would the body which was treated before burial be useful in a fresh investigation?
I'm still making some consultations to see whether it will be possible, and I'm yet to get the answer.
Where are the parts which were taken from Dr Onzivua?
I want even the president to tell Kayihura to give me those parts because they are not goat's meat that somebody can roast and put in a cupboard. They should give me those parts to bury them.
Otherwise, what I know is that all doctors who were in the postmortem room, including the police surgeon Dr Byaruhanga, agreed that Nebanda had died of poison. The only thing which had remained was to see which type, and it is the reason they were flying [the parts] outside Uganda to be sure.
You don't seem to be keen on Kalungi yet he is the prime suspect in this saga…
They claim that Kalungi was arrested in Mombasa. They had been looking for him [for some time]. There is a procedure to follow in transferring a criminal from another country, which can't take six hours, and me I assume Kalungi must have been here in the country in some room, somewhere, [and] when Parliament put pressure, they had to produce him, and then another thing, when he came, they called a press conference for him. How?
Would you, therefore, conclude that Kalungi is being used by government to hide the truth?
I have no doubt that somebody must have used Kalungi to kill Nebanda. And I will not be intimidated because I'm ready for anything, even for death. If a young girl of 24 years can die, I am at least of age and I have seen enough that even if I die or they kill me now, I have no problem.
Police response
Contacted today, the police were reluctant to respond to Alice Namulwa's allegations. Judith Nabakooba, the police spokesperson, referred us to the director of CIID, Grace Akullo. However, Akullo said: "It is unprofessional, due to the subjudice rule, I can't comment on a matter before court. I don't want to bias the minds of the judges."
Akullo added: "What can I say about that matter? I think she is entitled to her opinion, let her say whatever she wants to say." The CIID also referred us to Gen Kayihura himself, who was reported to be in Algeria attending the Interpol regional meeting.
0 comments:
Post a Comment