Ad hoc Committee Visits Bobi Wine, Ssewanyana Says He Seeks Urgent Medical Care

As security continue holding Kyadondo East legislator Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine, the army says his wife and a group of legislators have managed to visit him today at Makindye Military Barracks.

According to Brig Richard Karemire, the Ministry of Defence and UPDF Spokesperson, a committee set up by the Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon Rebecca Kadaga last week, to embark on a fact finding mission on circumstances under which four Members of Parliament were arrested on August 13 and 14 in Arua, during the municipality by-elections, visited Bobi Wine Monday.

“This afternoon, members of the Ad-hoc committee of Parliament visited Hon Robert Kyagulanyi. They were: Hons Doreen Amule, Allan Ssewanyana, Medard Ssegona and Andrew Aja,” Brig Karemire tweeted yesterday.

Mr Karemire added that Bobi Wine’s wife, Barbara Kyagulanyi as well as the Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission(UHRC), Meddie Kaggwa, have also visited the ailing legislator.

Speaking at Parliament on Monday evening, Allan Ssewanyana, the MP for Makindye East said that Bobi Wine is still enduring a lot of pain and that his sitting posture when they interacted with him demonstrated pain. He said that following the torture that he was subjected to, he has sustained a damaged kidney, fractured bones and passes out blood while urinating.

According to Ssewanyana, Kyagulanyi asked Parliament to push for him to access medical treatment from abroad as he does not trust the care being provided by government.

“He isn’t fine. You can tell from the way he talks and his posture that he is in too much pain. What he asked for most is that Parliament helps him to get treatment. He doesn’t trust the medical treatment given to him, they have injected him numerous times and he doesn’t know what that means,” Ssewanyana said.

On Sunday, he was taken to Kampala Imaging Centre for a CT-scan but the report hasn’t been released, the Makindye East legislator said.

“He has chest pains, he keeps coughing while and hebsays that he bled through most of his parts. He has wounds all over his body. He is concerned about saving his life”.

Bobi Wine however acknowledged that compared to how he was treated in Arua and Gulu, he has been treated with dignity while at Makindye.

Bobi Wine, 36, is held at Makindye facility on charges of illegal possession of a fire arm and ammunition. He was charged before a military court on Friday, August 17, 2018 in Gulu.

Ssewanyana’s revelations come just a day after members of the Defence committee of Parliament led by Usuku county MP Peter Ogwang and MP Arinaitwe Rwakajara, visited Mr Kyagulanyi and claimed his condition was not alarming as earlier communicated by his lawyers Medard Lubega Ssegona and Asuman Basalirwa.

“Contrary to social media alarming reports that Hon Kyagulanyi is in dire state, we found him in a better state than what is painted on social media. Hon Kyagulanyi hugged and smiled at us, talked freely with us,” Mr Peter Ogwang said in a statement.

“He commended the UPDF doctors for taking good care of him medically. Am not shy to say that indeed he has a few bruises on his face but he is in good state,” he added.

When SoftPower News contacted MP Ssegona, he admitted visiting him saying that, his situation is better.

Bobi Wine is expected again in Court Martial on August 23.