Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ivan Mulera has been arrested by police in Kampala for beating up Field Forces Unit (FFU) officers who reportedly found him in Kyengera in Kazinga zone in a bar said to belong to him.
On Thursday night, Mulera who had recently been transferred to Kasese from Nsangi Police, allegedly beat up junior officers of the FFU for raiding his bar in Kyengera which was reportedly open past curfew hours.
Mulera was found with young men in the bar playing cards, according to the FFU police. “He beat us and even attempted to grab our guns. Some of our colleagues including a female colleague sustained severe injuries from his assault, and he also promised to gun us down,” said one of the officers that was part of the FFU team during the operation. There was a lot of struggle and chaos which forced the police to fire teargas in turn inconveniencing the neighbourhood.
Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Deputy Spokesperson confirmed the claim that an assault charge against Mulera had been opened. He then added that he would be charged in the normal court of law and then police disciplinary court.
Owoyesigyire didn’t hesitate in condemning Mulera for torturing his colleagues who were working well within the law in implementing the Presidential directive of stopping bar activity.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in a presidential address in March 2020, announced the closure of bars in a move to control the spread of Covid-19 since according to findings, bars were among the areas in which the virus was easily spread.
Even after most of the restrictive measures have since been lifted, bars remain closed because of the difficulty that comes with people observing SOPs when intoxicated.
According to New Vision news however, “Some bars linked to security personnel and top government officials continue operating in blatant disregard to the presidential directive while others pay money and enjoy protection from the officers supposed to implement the directive.”
