KAMPALA – The Police Disciplinary Court has charged 10 officers over negligence in connection with the kidnap and murder of social worker Maria Nagirinya and her driver.
The three Assistant Superintendents of Police and seven Police Constables were arraigned before the police court chaired by Dennis Odongpiny on Monday, October 21, 19.
The officers are expected back in court on Wednesday. Their appearance in court comes after the DPP advised the police force to have the accused officers tried at disciplinary level where they could receive lenient sentences upon conviction.
If found guilty by the police court, the officers could be sentenced to severe reprimand, be demoted, suspended or part of their salary withheld for a specified period.
The officers were arrested on the orders of President Museveni for allegedly failing to act fast when Nagirinya and her driver were kidnapped.
The police officers were manning CCTV cameras and police stations on the fateful day when Nagirinya and Ronald Kitayimbwa were kidnapped and later murdered.
“On account of the cameras and other technical means, we are now able to know who did not do his work. The Policemen in the camera centres were asleep, only waking up to “retrieve” pictures from the memory of the cameras,” Mr Museveni said in a statement.
“You are not only supposed to retrieve pictures that happened some hours ago. You are supposed to watch live and tell the patrol vehicles to act promptly. All these have been arrested. I have directed that all involved must be tried, sentenced, punished and dismissed from the Police. Moreover, they should never work in any government department ever, again,” he said.
