Uganda Law Society (ULS) has strongly condemned the recent raid on MTN Data Centre in Mutundwe by Internal Security Organisation (ISO) operatives.
Simon Peter Kinobe, ULS President wants ISO operatives who orchestrated the raid arrested and charged in the courts of Law and government should assure the general public and investors in the country that such lawless acts by ISO and other security organs will not be repeated.
“The Government should not only denounce the attack on MTN and the illegal arrest of citizens by ISO, but should also decisively deal with the particular individuals who broke the law in the arrest/kidnap of MTN employees and illegally accessed MTN’s data center,” Kinobe said in a statement this website has received.
On July 02, around 5pm, two employees of Huawei Uganda- a contractor of MTN were kidnapped from MTN Towers by heavily armed men in civilian clothing who claimed to be ISO agents. The kidnapped individuals were allegedly detained and later forced to grant unauthorized physical access to the MTN Uganda’s data centre at Mutundwe. While addressing a press conference on Tuesday at MTN Nyonyi Gardens, MTN Uganda chairman, Charles Mbire confirmed the raid, but insisted that the intruders did not access the servers as earlier on alleged.
“The NRM Government has prided itself on its ability to ensure that security agencies do not misuse the gun or turn the gun against people. Accessing the MTN data center with no court order but instead using guns is most unacceptable. Remembering our history, ISO should avoid the behavior and conduct of the former State Research Bureau. We also note, with grave concern the continued illegal detention of Mr. Birungi Simpson aka Movit by ISO contrary to the express orders of the High Court,” Kinobe added.
ULS has also condemned statements made by the Director General of ISO Col. Kaka Bagyenda confirming the attack on the MTN data center carried out by ISO operatives.
“It is very chilling to hear the Director General of ISO proudly associating himself with such illegalities in a press conference. The need for any government agency to gain access to any property or information from the public using “heavily armed men” is uncalled for, considering that the same could have been accessed lawfully. The era of accessing information at gun point is long past,” he said.
Kinobe also criticized Bagyenda’s recent move to parade suspects who confessed to working with Dr. Kizza Besigye and Gen Kale Kayihura to cause unrest in the city. ULS has long opposed the practice of parading suspects because the “exercise is of no legal value and erodes the presumption of innocence.” Section 5.4 (2) of the Security Organisations Act, says that ISO has no legal mandate to arrest and detain any person since ISO is neither a department of the Army nor a unit of the police that have the power to arrest and detain.