MP Rukaari pins businessman Kabonero on orchestrating his arrest, detention to embarrass him

Mbarara City North MP, MP Robert Mwesigwa Rukaari has once again written to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU) to provide evidence  pinning businessman Robert Kabonero for masterminding his recent arrest and detention at Luzira.

In an addendum to his earlier complaint  to the State House Anti-Corruption , a copy of which the Nile Post has seen,  Mwesigwa, who doubles as the NRM party chairman of the Entrepreneurs League, alleges that Kabonero, a prominent Kampala businessman worked with a controversial court bailiff Moses Kirunda to effect his arrest.

“I am in receipt of information including confessions, that Mr Robert Kabonero continuously called Moses Kirunda to orchestrate my arrest and detention, intentionally to annoy, embarrass and ridicule my person as a Member of Parliament,” Rukari's letter reads in part.

“My appeal to you is to establish the criminal intention of the person in question and whether the state-engineered my arrest and incarceration to Luzira when the judgment creditor had security against the debt with an estimated value of Shs3.8 billion.”

The NRM CEC member was arrested on March 1 after court issued an arrest warrant over his alleged failure to pay the business debt.

He however clarified that this was an arrangement with his business partner Gerald Kalungi, which did not warrant state involvement.

In his petition to State House, MP Rukaari protested the manner in which he was arrested and sent to Luzira prison an outstanding debt of about Shs702m.

He  claims the manner in which he was arrested was demeaning of him as a legislator, which high-handedness, he wants the anti-graft unit to investigate and punish those found culpable.

“This is to register my complaint against various government officials that include ASP Mukiibi Karim and another, court bailiff Moses Kirunda and assistant registrars of the Commercial Court….”

At the weekend, the MP was seen in a video with tycoon Godfrey Kirumira, the father of Kalungi during the funeral of Justice Kakuru.

Kirumira is said to have condemned “the high handedness” of his lawyers, who he said took unnecessary steps to arrest the Rukaari but also apologized to the MP, who he says is his longtime business partner.