Police justify arresting Ill MP Zaake at airport; ‘he was fleeing country’

Police have justified the arrest of Mityana Municipality Member of Parliament Francis Zaake at Entebbe airport on Thursday.

On Thursday morning, the ambulance carrying Zaake from Rubaga hospital where he had been admitted following the Arua fracas was blocked from accessing the airport tarmac by police as he tried to fly out of the country to the US for further treatment due to his precarious condition.

However, in a statement, the police spokesperson Emillian Kayima justified the arrest as one intended to keep the ill legislator under their custody before being arraigned in courts of law over a number of charges against him.

Kayima explained that their investigations had indicated that Zaake was part of the suspects in the treason case where a group of people stoned President Museveni’s convoy two weeks ago.

“Zaake was arrested on August 13 but developed a condition which necessitated hospitalization and as a result he was taken to Arua referral hospital under police custody where he was admitted,”Kayima said.

“The police allowed the medical personnel to attend to him uninterrupted and in privacy while maintaining guard outside.”

According to police, the ill Zaake escaped from the hospital in Arua with the help of  ‘some elements’ adding that they later found out that he had been admitted at Rubaga hospital and  for fear of worsening his health condition, they didn’t arrest him but kept an eye on him.

Police says that they communicated to the hospital to discuss modalities of transferring him to Mulago hospital but management at Rubaga declined.

“This morning we found Zaake at Entebbe international airport trying to flee the country and accordingly apprehended him,”Kayima said.

“He will be taken to Mulago hospital for examination or further management while under police custody.”

Zaake was among the 34 people  including fellow lawmakers Robert Kyagulanyi, Gerald Karuhanga and Kassiano Wadri arrested over the chaos in Arua in which the presidential convoy was allegedly stoned the presidential convoy.

His co-accused were later charged with treason for trying to harm the president by throwing stones at his vehicles that smashed its hind windscreen.

Police say, they will soon arraign Zaake in courts of law over the offence at an appropriate time.