Even if he defiantly blasted police spokesperson CP Fred Enanga on Tuesday, the Minister of ICT, Chris Baryomunsi will have to appear before the police team investigating claims that former Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah was poisoned, impeccable sources in police say.
Enanga on Monday revealed that police was to summon some people including Baryomunsi for statement recording and questioning about speculations that Oulanyah succumbed to poison.
Others are Godfrey Suubi Kiwanda the NRM Vice Chairperson Buganda region, NUP President Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, MPs Gilbert Olanya, Santa Okot, Oulanyah’s father Okori Nathan, Bosmic Otim, selected cultural and local leaders and several bloggers.
The former Speaker died on Sunday March 20, 2022 in Seattle, U.S where he was receiving treatment and his body was laid to rest last week on Friday April 8.
Government said he died due to multiple organ failure and that he also had cancer but various individuals including Oulanyah’s father Nathan Okori insist that the former Speaker was poisoned and it is this that caused his death.
While appearing on Capital FM on Saturday, Kiwanda revealed that the late had as well told him that he was poisoned. He said: “I find no contradiction with Oulanyah’s father who insists that his son was poisoned, the late Rt. Hon Jacob Oulanyah told me too that he was poisoned.”
In a separate interview Kiwanda said he informed Chris Baryomunsi, the Minister of ICT about it, and it is for this reason that Baryomunsi too had to me summoned.
But, while speaking to reporters at the Uganda Media Center on Tuesday, Baryomunsi said that police should professionally investigate the matter but trade cautiously in order not to drag “their” names into what he regarded as drama.
Baryomunsi said: “It is improper to summon a father who has just lost his child. At this rate, Fred Enanga will summon the late Jacob Oulanyah. Enanga should stop being excited and shouldn’t drag me into this drama.”
“At this rate, Fred Enanga might summon Jacob Oulanyah’s father. The father says my son told me, in this case, it should be Jacob Oulanyah’s word against his father, he will end up summoning the dead,” he added.
His remarks have been interpretated as intending not to honour the summons, but an impeccable source at the Police CID headquarters (where the file of offensive communication is ongoing), told Plus News that the Minister has no option other than availing himself for interrogation.
“The President ordered that perpetrators of these false rumours are arrested and prosecuted and police is conducting an investigation. Anybody in this country save for the Fountain of Honour, can be investigated,” says the source who is also privy to developments at CID.
“Baryomunsi is not above the law and what he said today at the Media Center was only to satisfy his ego but he knows that he has no option. He was summoned because his name was mentioned by Kiwanda as one of those who had prior knowledge about the said poisoning. He is need to confirm or dispute allegations that Kiwanda informed him about Oulanyah’s poison claims,” she adds.
She said Police will deliver the summons to the Minister next week just like the rest of the invited individuals and will await his coming, short of which, they invoke other means provided by law.
Some Ugandans have since taken to social media to condemn Baryomunsi for what they called unnecessary attack against the police spokesperson who is simply a mouthpiece of the Force.
“How can a government spokesperson unnecessarily attack police spokesperson in public? What happened to reaching out to a colleague in private?” asked Mable Atuhura on social media, noting that Baryomunsi only displayed to the World how uncoordinated government is.
On his part, Kiwanda insists that he shared with Baryomunsi about what the late Oulanyah had confided in him. Source close to him say he is only awaiting to receive the summons and then goes for statement recording.
Another separate source told this website, the latest development could see police tactfully drop the summons against Oulanyah’s father and other summoned individuals but strongly warn the public against publicizing related unverified claims. Plus News could not independently verify this.
Who ‘she adds’???