Jinja RDC Eric Sakwa Arrested, Remanded over Manslaughter, Theft

At about 4 pm on Friday, Police camped outside NBS radio along Kutch Road in Jinja, to arrest Eric Sakwa, a man who cut a figure of a powerful government functionary.

Sakwa, a former Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) activist who crossed to the ruling NRM and rewarded with a posting to Jinja as Resident District Commissioner (RDC), was arrested on charges of manslaughter, theft and malicious damage to property.

According to the charge sheet, Sakwa caused the death of accused Charles Isanga of Lwanda village whom he allegedly tortured and also went away three crates of beer, eight trays of eggs, sachets of empire waragi and sodas all valued at Shs 429,000.

Sakwa is jointly charged with Mohammed Simba alias Meddie and Bumali Kazibyewa alias Chris Umar Dindondi and others still at large.
They allegedly raided Isanga’s kiosk on March 22 and tortured him in the name of enforcing President Museveni’s directives intended to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease.

Many looked on in disbelief as the police arrested the man who has previously directed them to arrest opposition politicians from the very radio station.

Sakwa had spent about an hour at the radio as part of his routine to further sensitize the people of Jinja on government’s efforts against COVID-19.

Moments later, he was arraigned before the Jinja Grade One Magistrate, Anne Komuhangi who didn’t allow him to enter any plea since her court lacks jurisdiction to try charges that are capital in nature.
She remanded him to Busesa Prison until May 13, 2020, when he will return for the mention of his case.

The developments come within three weeks after he ordered the arrest of Pastor Andrew Muwanguzi, a People Power movement activist with whom they had had a heated debate at the radio from where he was arrested.

While in detention, Muwanguzi was badly tortured that upon his release, he was hospitalised at Nile Internation Hospital with serious wounds covering his body.