MP Zaake gives shocking revelations on Lumbuye
I encourage the rest of us to pray for comrade Lumbuye and hope that the situation will turn out in our favor in our fight against dictatorship.
Hon. Zaake Francis Butebi is a member of the House of Representatives.
Comrades,
I spoke with a Turkish lawyer who had previously been recognized and retained by the Ugandan community in Turkey after landing in Turkey. Members of the Ugandan community introduced me to a lawyer who informed me that he had been able to talk with Mr. Lumbuye Fred from his incarceration center in Turkey. The lawyer then proceeded to show me images of Turkish-language documentation that he claimed proved he had previously started the asylum process for Mr. Lumbuye in a safer jurisdiction.
The lawyer then presented me with a bill for $71,000 (about UGX 250 million) in legal costs, promising that if we paid that amount, he would finish all of the necessary papers to have Lumbuye released and flown out for asylum somewhere. He further stated that after he is paid, he will make arrangements for us to meet Lumbuye in person at his Turkish authorities’ incarceration center. Please notice that he had already circulated this bill to the Turkish community before I approached him. When word of the legal charge reached Ugandans in Uganda and abroad, a frantic fundraising campaign was launched to get our friend Lumbuye out of danger. NUP branches across the diaspora, led by comrade Herman Ainebyona, are running this campaign, which is currently going on. Even money sent from Uganda is routed through a Ugandan phone number that is known and controlled by diaspora leaders.
Counsel Wameli Anthony (Head, NUP Legal) and Counsel Muwada Nkunyingi (Shadow Minister, Foreign Affairs) flew to Turkey earlier this week to conduct due-diligence activities in order to determine the exact circumstances of Lumbuye’s disappearance and where he is being held before any money is paid to the Turkish lawyer. I believe that the lawyer has refused to see Counsel Wameli and Muwada in person since they arrived in Turkey for unknown reasons, despite speaking with them on the phone. Despite their best efforts, the two have been unable to locate Lumbuye in any of Turkey’s gazetted detention institutions, much less speak with or meet him, despite the Turkish lawyer’s claims. The more questions we posed, the less responses we received.
The foregoing background raises doubts about the role of official Turkish law enforcement institutions in the abduction of comrade Lumbuye, and instead points to the possibility of rogue non-State actors operating within the country. It has also led me to assume that, contrary to what I really believed and shared to you earlier, the Turkish lawyer may not be in possession of all of the basic information surrounding Lumbuye’s disappearance. While the Turkish lawyer argues that Lumbuye is still in Turkey and that he (the lawyer) should be paid first to arrange access, I believe that none of the funds gathered so far have been handed to him because doing so would be risky given the current circumstances on the ground. The NUP Diaspora leadership will release authoritative communication on this matter in due course.
I am convinced that Counsel Muwada and Wameli’s legal efforts will lead us all to the bottom of this perplexing situation. As you may have noticed, they are doing all possible to keep the public informed. I encourage the rest of us to pray for comrade Lumbuye and hope that the situation will turn out in our favor in our fight against dictatorship.
