Uganda police make arrest, then seek evidence

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Chris Mubiru (Photo courtesy of The Observer)

Police in Kampala have arrested former Uganda Cranes national football team manager Chris Mubiru after he was spotted in the country.

He had reportedly fled overseas after photos and videos from a stolen laptop were published showing him allegedly engaging in sexual relations with youths or young men.

LGBT activists made clear that they are not in favor of same-sex relations with under-aged youths, but they questioned why Mubiru was arrested Dec. 15 without persuasive evidence.

After the arrest, police spokesperson Judith Nabakoba appealed to the public for anyone with evidence of being sodomized by Mubiru to present it at Central Police Station.

One activist said he believed police arrested Mubiru, as they previously arrested British citizen Bernard Randall, to maintain credibility with a homophobic public, rather than because they have valid evidence against him.

Before removing its story “Sodomy suspect Chris Mubiru arrested” from its website, the Daily Monitor reported that:

Mr Mubiru, whose photographs appeared in a local tabloid allegedly having sexual intercourse with different youth was arrested Sunday at his home in Mengo, near Kampala.

He was detained at Katwe Police Station. Early Monday, Mr Mubiru was transferred to the Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Directorate at Kibuli where he is being interrogated.

Daily Monitor has not established the case police are likely to prefer against Mr Mubiru. Mr Mubiru, who the government claimed had left the country.

The then Uganda Media Centre executive director, Mr Fred Opolot, said that the videos obtained by the police seemed to suggest that Mr Mubiru was luring minors into sexual harassment.
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“In this regard, Uganda Police has sent out a request to Interpol to arrest Mr Mubiru wherever he has escaped to and hand him over to Uganda Police for further interrogation,” Mr Opolot said.