There was panic at Bombo military hospital in Luwero District after the bedridden ISO contractor Simon Odongo collapsed before an urgent military court martial.
Simon Odongo had been picked from the military hospital to the military court which travelled from Kampala to Bombo in order to charge him despite a court order in place which had earlier ordered his captors to present him before the High Court in Kampala today Wednesday .
According to the family, they were informed in the morning by the In-charge Bombo Military hospital a one Doctor Ochen to go with an ambulance and pick Simon and take him to another hospital as directed by the court order.
Dr. Ochen asked them to go with only the ambulance because the patient cannot move using another vehicle as he is in bad shape after he was shot by a police officer a one D/ASP Benon Ayebare, according to the family.
“After being told by Dr. Ochen, we mobilized an ambulance and rushed to Bombo. On reaching there they turned around and said that they have not received any radio message from Mbuya to release any patient”.
It was then that they were informed that the military court martial was coming to Bombo to charge him. The court had not charged him because its term of office had expired.
It was one of the reasons High Court in Kampala ordered for his compansation after the military produced a fake charge sheet claiming Odongo already appeared before it.
After the commander in chief today renewed the court martial term office, members rushed to Bombo hospital and organized a court session.
The court was able to sit at 3PM and Odongo was brought on a stretcher and charged with possession of fire arms and military uniforms. He denied all the charges.
Family members who were present say Odongo who is in a very bad shape collapsed 3 times during the session.
Odongo informed them that while in hospital, officers continue to bring to him a written confession to sign it and pin ISO Director General Col Kaka Bagyenda on various fake cases.
Odongo says they assure him that once he accepts and pins Kaka, he will be released as a free man.
One of the cases they want him to sign is pinning Kaka on fake report against Kale Kayihura in Andrew Felix Kaweesi murder.
However, Odongo says he would rather die than signing a fake confession against Kaka to be taken to the President.
The family says the reasons for his captors not to obey all court orders is to make Odongo’s health worsen such that he is scared of his life and accepts to pin his employer.
“It is clear now these people are looking for Kaka, Odongo is a scapegoat but a big target is Kaka and his office. All they ask is sign and pin Kaka”.
His lawyers did not attend the court because it was illegal and appearing there would legitimize their illegal activities.
This also followed after Parliament of Uganda summoned the Attorney General William Byaruhanga over allegations that security forces led by Cheiftaincy of Military Intelligence, has to date defied a court order to either free or produce Odongo who was arrested two months back.
However, AG Byaruhang did not appeared before Parliament nor made any official communication as to why.
Odongo has been held incommunicado, severely tortured (by inserting tubes from the tip of his penis to the bladder; shot in the leg & left with a festering wound)
He was arrested in Kirinya, Bweyogerere, Wakiso Districts on May 4th, 2020, at about 8:00Am, by a team of security operatives who raided the home.
Odongo’s wife Annet Kiiza, in her affidavit, revealed that the arresting officers included the Chief of Militancy Intelligence (CMI) soldiers, the officer- in charge of Kirinya Police Station, only identified as Tabu, together with a police officer who identified himself as Benon Ayebare, from Kireka Special Investigations Unit.
Kiiza said that; “He (Tabu) is the one who led the team to different rooms in the house while I was being forced by the soldier who shot my husband to clean the blood quickly. During the arrest, one of the arresting officers shot my husband in the leg with a pistol after he had been subdued in the corridor to the bedroom, and was seriously injured in the leg causing profuse bleeding.”
A search without a warrant was conducted by the agents during which the suspect’s property, including two laptops, one drone, one GPS, six mobile phones, Shs4m cash and several other personal documents were taken by the arresters.
However, what surprises Odongo’s family members that the UPDF, CMI, ISO and Uganda Police Force have to date never issued an official statement about why he was arrested or produced him in court to be charged with any offences, despite two orders from the High Court to that effect.
On June 26th, 2020, the High court in Kampala awarded Shs250m Odongo. Before his arrest, it was alleged that UPDF soldiers who were on duty distributing food to vulnerable people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Kampala, were accosted by Odongo who was in the company of two other people.