A police officer doubling as bodyguard to the leader of Boda Boda 2010, Abdullah Kitatta, is the latest to be revealed as having been arrested by the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) in an operation mounted yesterday in Wakaliga in which Kitatta was also apprehended.
The bodyguard, Police Constable (PC) Ngobi Sowali was escorting Kitatta at the time of their arrest. Sowali is said to have previously been assigned by Police to Kitatta who is also NRM Chairman for Rubaga division.
On Saturday, he was found in possession of an AK-47 rifle and a pistol that belongs to Kitatta assigned to the Boda Boda 2010 head by Police.
The crackdown by the military on the rouge group and the subsequent discoveries from their hideouts including the guns, machetes and a car belonging to murdered Case Hospital accountant, could be an affirmation that Boda Boda 2010 is indeed a criminal gang that has for long operated with the protection of powerful authorities in the Police.
It further begs the questions – why does Abdullah Kitatta, a civilian who heads an Association of Boda Boda transporters need a gun, and why does he need an armed police bodyguard?
A highly placed source in the joint security forces who preferred anonymity told SoftPower News; “You can see how much protection those rogues had. They would continue to reign terror on Ugandans if we did not confront them”.
“Uganda must be secure for every citizen, and we are keen on achieving that as promised to the people by the President,” the source added.
On Sunday morning, an operation by CMI in Nyanama, Rubaga Division saw two Congolese nationals identified as Kandi Muhindo and Fahil Muwendo and another arrested for their alleged involvement in the kidnap and murder of Case Hospital accountant, Francis Ekalungar and a host of other crimes in the city.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Gen Kale Kayihura recently told Parliament’s committee that Boda Boda 2010 helped police in quelling opposition demonstrations and protests adding that those who want the group disbanded are enemies of peace in the city.
Last year, Kitatta mounted a protest of Boda Boda’s in Kampala challenging calls by civil society and some political circles for Gen Kayihura to appear before court.