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Full President Museveni address on Nebanda's death

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni addressing journalists at State House Nakasero on Monday on the death of Nebanda. PHOTO/Kennedy Oryema.

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"Nebanda knowingly or unknowingly  was in wrong company of either drug suppliers or users. There is no doubt."
THE FULL VERBATIM
On behalf of the people of Uganda, Government and myself, I extend heart-felt condolences to the family of Mr. Mukasa, the step-father of the Late Butaleja MP Cerinah Nebanda and the people of Butaleja on the death of the late Nebanda.

When Hon. Kasule Lumumba [Government Chief Whip] rang me at 9:00pm on Friday 14 December and told me that Nebanda had died, I could not believe because I had seen her the day before when I addressed Parliament.

As fighters, we long ago acquired the disciplined of not panicking in the face of adversity. I told Kasule Lumumba to ring me later. By that time a lot of people had gathered at the hospital, including the step-father to the late [Nebanda].

When Kasule Lumumba rang me later I insisted on speaking to one of the doctors who works at the unit to tell me who had taken Nebanda to hospital. Of the people who had brought her, two had run away when the doctor told them she had died. On the one who had stayed behind – a clinical officer – in that panic, no one had concentrated on him. I told the doctor to locate him but he could not speak good English.

I asked what language he knew well and he said Luganda, so I asked him to switch to Luganda.

He told me how they had been contacted when Nebanda needed help, of how they had tried to give her first aid. This was a breakthrough and the start of investigations. IGP Kale Kayihura then arrived. I told him to concentrate on the clinical officer. Police then moved in and identified the house [where Nebanda had spent his final hours] and broke into it to start investigations.

Within 26 hours, names of all the actors had been identified and were with Police. According to all sources, it had become clear to Police as to what could have caused the death of Nebanda. What remained was the post-mortem [autopsy] report of toxicological tests to establish whether it was drugs, alcohol or poisoning.

A post-mortem was done at Mulago and showed no heart attack or clot, but that she had been killed by substances that she had taken that affected her pancreas and lungs.  What then were they? That was the question. Were they poison or drugs? Pieces of organ samples were removed for analysis to be sure by officials from the Government Analytical laboratory (GAL). Government supported them to use an external laboratory in the UK which they normally work with on such issues and on my orders and a second laboratory in Israel was identified for tests.

The results from UK came in yesterday but one [Saturday], and were harmonised with initial tests by our Pathologist to come up with the post-mortem report by the Director General Dr. Jane Aceng before issuing a final report. The one from Israel has not yet come in.

The [UK] results show that she died by taking drugs. They are all listed and the family was given a copy yesterday [Sunday]. I will refer to them later on. These drugs could have been taken voluntarily or accidentally. According to some human sources, it could have been accidental ingestion.

However, one factor that is clear and incontestable is that Honourable Nebanda knowingly or unknowingly was in wrong company of either drug suppliers or users. There is no doubt.

I have known this from the first day when the Police came in, and the laboratory tests. Even Adam Karungi, her so-called boyfriend, will be arrested wherever he goes. Police have made more arrests of these drug dealers, the associates of Karungi and they are in Police custody.

I have nothing but contempt for those who have been peddling lies that NRM could have had a hand in her death.

From 1971 when our Movement was founded we only killed enemies in combat. Yes, NRM killed people, and we were also killed but we only kill armed combatants. Anybody saying we killed unarmed people is an idiot, a fool, and dispensable and they will know what it means to fight the NRM. Even with armed ones, when they surrender we protect them in accordance with the law.

Why kill Nebanda for being cheeky and manipulated by crooks? These young people are being manipulated by fools! Why kill such young people? I have actually been trying to rescue these young people. I work politically to bring these rebellious cadres back. There are many examples of those we have talked to and are now in government.

Those who refuse we let them go like [former FDC leader Col. Kizza] Besigye to go do other things. Those who do come back, we welcome. [Acting information minister Rosemary] Namayanja is now a big minister yet before she was a rebel. She was with Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) going around with former Democratic Party President Paul Ssemogerere insulting me but I fished her out. Lt. Kasigazi fished her out – that’s how I work. Which idiot doesn’t know that?

How about people who are shouting at us? If we can defeat people and can work with them later, who have we killed? Why kill Nebanda and not vocal critics of government in Parliament and elsewhere? Some are more vocal than poor Cerinah Nebanda. What I regret is that I had not got time to interact with her personally except when I invited a group of them to Ntungamo. She, in her cheeky ways, requested for something which I granted immediately.

Beware of any politician who says that government can kill in an extra-judicial manner – that means that’s what that person would do when they get into power. Fortunately, they are not in power and will not because we will isolate them.

NRM under my leadership will never kill extra-judiciary. May I conclude by alerting all parents that that’s what I do when I hear stories. Parents seem not to be parenting. As a parent, not a President or executive,  Nebanda was a young girl who missed out on life because of some unfortunate circumstances she found herself in. If her parents are below 50 years then they are fit to be my sons or daughters. Their children like Nebanda could be like my grand-children.

There are a lot of dangers awaiting teenagers out there. Do not be like those of Europe where once a child is 18 years they say they are able to manage their own affairs – they can try but there is no harm if parents stay as referees or consultants. Why should we have consultants as government and not for teenagers and adolescents? Teenagers and adolescents need to be careful with their lifestyle, their associates and avoid alcohol. It has no value addition. Avoid indiscipline relationships. Study, finish, get jobs and start a family with a vetted partner.

One who bumps into marriage without checking their partner dies without warning. Let Hon. Nebanda’s soul rest in peace.

Drugs

 The drugs that were found in Nebanda’s body included ethanol which is alcohol; cocaine which is a narcotic drug; morphin, chloroquine for malaria treatment; cocaphinine, dextrometaphine which is a pain killer or cough suppressant. These were found in the stomach, as well as in the urine and blood.

I have called this press conference because there is a group of indisciplined MPs who have made it a habit to disturb the peace of Uganda. Uganda has gone through a lot of problems – wars in the north, west, Karamoja disarmament. The country is now peaceful, armed people are no longer killing people, soldiers are disciplined. But liars working for foreign interests and personal gain don’t care about the country.
Groups of such MPs have been disturbing Uganda for some time. They were in the sixth Parliament always disturbing and telling likes, blocking Bujagali. Uganda had to suffer because of that mistake. The other time, they caused so much confusion to people of Uganda when they forged documents to Parliament – a Parliament for which we shed blood.

They said that Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi got a bribe together with Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa and yet I had told the Speaker and given her the documents and told her they were forged. The documents first came to me before the elections of in August 2010.
I was very excited and wanted to find the truth and hang these people. When Police probed they found they were not true so I gave them to the Speaker and Vice President. They [MPs] knew these were forgeries but went ahead and brought a motion calling for the resignation of the ministers. A committee of inquiry was set up only to find out what I told them that these were forgeries.

The Constitutional Court had to rule that Parliament had to stop. Of course I restrained myself because I am looking for peace, and thought the matter would end there, in spite of me telling them these were forgeries. Now the other day they caused so many hullabaloos about oil – that I am a thief, and they were exercising their oversight role over me. Who was exercising it over me? When I was a boy and would come from Tanzania all the way to wage the liberation struggle and who would know I had gone into danger or not?

When we call you big names like Honourable and you think you are big, we shall fight you like we did to Amin, but using legal means. The Constitution is there; why kill Nebanda? The other days they said we should stop signing the oil agreements. We were polite and said ‘OK, we shall talk but shall not stop the signing.’

The other day they said Police investigations into Nebanda’s death should stop. What powers do they have? [They have] no powers because they might be criminals themselves. Parliament cannot habour criminals. The other day some of them slept there to avoid arrest. If they want asylum, let them go to the US embassy but we could have asked Parliament to hand them over. When I see these young people I want to talk to them. I have rescued so many young people from confusion.

The other day they organised hooliganism which stopped Third Deputy Prime Minister Moses Ali from speaking [at the funeral of Nebanda on Sunday in Butaleja]. Unfortunately our intelligence is poor –they were told but they did not counter the hooligans. We were lucky nobody was shot but they can’t continue giving our country a bad name.

The other day they [MPs] went to the mortuary [to get samples of Nebada’s organs]. This is unheard of! If your relative dies of natural causes, the family can go and ask for a post-mortem but if causes are suspicious it immediately becomes a Police case.
The Police handles the whole process. Nobody in Uganda has got authority over crime – not even me, Parliament or even IGG. Why? Because it’s common sense that when somebody dies, you don’t know who killed her. Even this business of relatives and family interfering, some people can be killed by their relatives . . . or MPs. The Constitution says the role of preventing crime is for Police, not even UPDF. UPDF’s role is to defend and protect the territorial integrity of the country.

So theses MPs invited themselves to the mortuary without Police – whose constitutional role is to protect life and property, preserve law and order, detect and prevent crime.

If you read functions of the President, Parliament or UPDF, we do not have these functions [as those of Police mentioned above].  Then you get MPs who would be examples misusing their office to interfere with Police work. Police had accepted them since they asked doctors to come in as observers because they are not specialised pathologists. They then brought in another Doctor Onzivua who decided to steal dead body samples. This is unheard of! This is sacrilege.

Body samples are kept in a container sealed, labelled and locked up in a government laboratory and nobody should open except government laboratory people. These samples which were stolen by (MP) Dr. Sam Lyomoki, Chris Baryomunsi and Onzivua and others, were they labelled, sealed and protected?

Because that job is for the Police, I cannot get samples and bring them here to State House because I am his Excellency – I would have committed a crime. I can be excellent in giving lessons about the future of Uganda and prosperity but not in analysing samples! 

We shall not tolerate MPs analysing samples because that’s what we fought for. I have been here for some time but I have never entered a mortuary. My dear mother, I was dealing with her when she was breathing but when she died I surrendered her to those people (post-mortem experts).

They (rebel MPs) use your radios, why do you allow them? Do you ask them for proof? . . . because we shall close your radios and if you run bankrupt don’t blame me because I must defend Uganda.

Valid samples are those stored by police, not those kept by somebody else – not even a Bishop. They would no longer be relevant. So Police arrested this guy [Dr. Onzivua], kept him in jail and released him on bond.

Talk that he was stopped because government wanted to hide something is nonsense. They should have requested Police and gone with anybody because it is police work. If they (Police) don’t do it, who are you going to blame? You now can’t say that Museveni interfered in the investigations if something goes wrong.

Inquest

On an inquest by the judiciary, cabinet also brought it up on Wednesday, but we said we have already gone far and know what the problem was. Will the coroner not delay because everything that had been done since we wanted the cause [of the MP’s death] before burial?
We now know nevertheless and have made arrests of the people who were doing drugs with her and we are continuing to get information. But there is no problem with an inquest which will look at what the Police has done and anybody with some information to add on will when a coroner is appointed.

Those alleging that they know who killed her can then come out and show us who did so. People like MPs Theodore Ssekikubo, Chris Baryomunsi, Wilfred Niwagaba who have now been joined by MPs Lyomoki and Emmanuel Dombo who said in Parliament and repeated at the burial that he (Dombo) knows who killed Nebanda. He will have to show us because the Police is looking for who killed Nebanda but if someone knows and opts to keep quiet he will have to tell us.

Kadaga

 If [Speaker of Parliament Rebecca] Kadaga knows who killed Nebanda then she will tell the Police, and the coroner will ask her if she knows what we don’t know. It’s a duty, not optional. If you know tell us but if you say you were just talking, that’s a bad idea. With crime there’s nothing like a big office.

 The Police will go, salute her and ask her if there is something she knows that we don’t know. There is no rift between the executive and Parliament, but except an indisciplined clique of MPs and we shall take it on. The other day they were saying that if the minister of energy is given power to allow oil licences he will steal the oil – We shall not only expose them, but deal with them.

 Family

If they know who they are (Nebanda’s killers), I will deal with them [killers] the way I fought enemies.

Let her [Nebanda’s mother)  help me by showing them to me. I don’t want to be harsh to her because she has just lost a young woman, but she is being manipulated by crooks, and we shall go for them. But she should be courageous instead of living in denial.