Former Deputy Resident City Commissioner for Rubaga, Anderson Burora, was arrested on Monday night at his home in Nakawa Division by detectives. He is accused of offenses related to disturbing the peace of the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among.
Kampala Metropolitan Police Deputy Spokesman Luke Owoyesigyire confirmed that Mr. Burora is being held at the Central Police Station in Kampala and is expected to appear in court today. Mr. Owoyesigyire did not provide details about the specific offenses, but other police sources indicated that the case is being investigated by Parliament police following a complaint by the Speaker.
At around 10 am yesterday, officers from the Counter Terrorism Unit escorted Mr. Burora from Kira Divisional Police Headquarters, where he had spent the night, to his home in Ntinda for a search. According to Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Patrick Onyango, the search, which lasted three to four hours, did not yield any positive results. Reporters were not permitted to film the search.
Earlier, Mr. Onyango informed reporters that Burora was arrested on charges of hate speech and malicious information under the Computer Misuse Act, amended in 2022. “He did this using his X-account, formerly Twitter, and this is a legitimate crime against the State. We only appeal to members of the public to use social media carefully, not to misuse it and not to use it to misinform the public,” he said.
Around lunchtime, Burora was transported to the Kampala Central Police Station (CPS). He was taken to the office of the station CID officer, where he remained for nearly an hour. Family and friends visited him before he was taken to record his statement. Afterward, no one was allowed access to Mr. Burora, who is expected to be arraigned in court today.
Speaking to reporters at CPS, David Kamukama, one of Burora’s lawyers, stated: “He informed me that the Speaker wants him behind bars because of the anti-corruption campaign he has been running against Parliament. I am here wondering why the Speaker would behave in such a way to the extent of arresting someone who speaks about her.”
Mr. Kamukama added, “Police here have told us that they only have him because they are offering safe custody to him but the complainant is Parliament. We are going to Parliament to engage them so that they allow us access to our client and demand a police bond.”
