In 2012, while conversing with friends at Golf Course Hotel in Kampala, Maj. Gen. James Mugira sarcastically said he would arrest IGP Kale Kayihura if he got orders from the Commander in Chief.
Whereas his statement excited those who were present, they however, didn’t take time to critically think why Mugira, a one star general (Brigadier) wished to apprehend his senior Kayihura who was at a rank of Lt. Gen (3 stars).
Mugira had shortly been relieved of his duties as Chief of Military Intelligence and appointed head of Luwero industries.
Whereas his new appointment was bigger and strategic, security correspondents perceived Mugira’s transfer as a demotion.
Mugira, a law graduate who had excelled while at the helm of Military Intelligence clashed with Kayihura acrimoniously in 2010.
CMI under Mugira played a key role in the swift arrest of July 11, 2010 terror suspects after the bombing of Kyadondo and Ethiopian village in Kasanga , Kampala.
Those in security circles say the arrests were in ‘record time.’
Mugira and Kayihura later clashed on parading terror suspects as they held parallel press conferences.
The former IGP was under immense pressure from the President who wondered how Kayihura had failed to thwart the attack using intelligence.
Speculation began that Kayihura would be sacked and replaced with Mugira but instead the latter was dropped after two years and the former continued serving as the police chief for more 8 years.
As he served as Managing Director of Luwero Industries, Mugira kept a low profile but it later emerged that he and Gen Aronda Nyakairima, a former army commander had been linked to Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi’s camp.
Accordingly this was all crafted by Kayihura who still looked at Mugira as a threat to his IGP job.
Kayihura, according to reports repeatedly fed the President with false intelligence briefs containing names of senior army soldiers who had clandestinely backed Mbabazi’s presidential bid.
On the list were Mugira and Aronda. Aronda later died on a plane in 2015. The cause of his death until today remains a mystery.
Those entrenched in the security system of this country say that Museveni could have transferred Gen Mugira from Military Intelligence in 2012 to appease his Rwandan counterpart after reports emerged Mugira had strong links with exiled Rwandan military officers who threatened President Paul Kagame’s government.
Among those are Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa who survived assassination attempts in South Africa and Col Patrick Karegeya who was shot dead in 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Rwanda Links
It is against this backdrop that those who interacted with Mugira at Golf Course Hotel in 2012 reflect on why he made veiled statement wishing to arrest Kayihura.
Accordingly, one can connect dots, since Mugira was close to President Kagame’s opponents and recently reports emerged how Kayihura allegedly planned with Rwanda to overthrow President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
One can conclude that Mugira could have learnt of Kayihura’s shenanigans way back in 2012.
Kayihura was arrested in March this year and detained at Makindye barracks, arraigned in the court martial and given bail pending main case hearing which kicks off in September.
Whereas Kayihura wasn’t charged with espionage, he is accused of aiding subordinate police officers to kidnap and forcefully repatriate Rwandan Nationals between 2012 and 2018.
Some of those illegally repatriated turned out to be Kagame’s opponents who have since been sentenced to life imprisonment.
On August 28, Kayihura presented three sureties; Maj Gen Sam Kavuma, the deputy commander of land forces, Maj Gen James Mugira, the MD of NEC, a commercial arm of the army and Entebbe Municipality MP Rosemary Tumusiime as he sought bail from the military court.
Inside Story
As a senior officer Gen Mugira should have been one of those who first knew of an operation to arrest Kayihura at his farm in Lyantode.
Whereas many junior officers and friends reached out to Mugira seeking to find out the truth regarding Kayihura’s arrest, as a principled senior officer, he told them to be patient and wait for the official communication if ‘it was true.’
As it turned out to be true, media reports suggested that many Ugandans whom Kayihura had stepped on their toes must have celebrated his arrest.
The reports were not only restricted to civilians but also soldiers who suffered Kayihura’s wrath and top on the list was Mugira who was imagined to have silently jubilated Kayihura’s detention.
It is however, a huge surprise to many Ugandans who learnt that Gen. Mugira was among the three sureties Kayihura had presented to Court Martial as he sought bail.
When this website contacted Mugira to expound on his decision to bail out Kayihura he responded, “I don’t think I am ready to make any comment.”
But a high ranking official in UPDF who asked not to be mentioned when reached said there is no way Gen. Mugira could have made a decision to stand in Court Martial and declare his stance to bail out Kale Kayihura.
“This is an order from the Commander in Chief,” said the official.
Adding that the case had been negotiated by the High Command- the top sitting organ of UPDF which is chaired by the President.
“Mugira could not at any time take a decision on his own to stand surety of a man considered a criminal to the security of this country,” this official added.
This website can confidently report that, Museveni cleared Mugira and Kavuma to stand surety for Kayihura.
The President had played a role in Kayihura’s case as trying to save “face of the man that entrenched his regime after failing to get credible evidence of allegations of criminal conduct against him,” the official concluded.
Efforts to get a comment from the army remained unsuccessful by time of publication as Brig. Richard Karemire’s known phone number couldn’t go through.