Police place treason charges on Bobi Wine

ARUA. Police have charged Kyaddondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, with treason and causing malicious damage to a car belonging to the President’s convoy.
This was revealed yesterday by West Nile region police spokesperson, Ms Josephine Angucia, as police displayed guns and other items they claimed were recovered during a security search at Pacific Hotel in Arua Town where Bobi Wine and other opposition MPs had booked in during the campaigns for Arua Municipality parliamentary by-election.
Police displayed two AK-47 guns, a pistol, 15 phones, six red T-shirts, 46 white tablets in a tin labelled extra strength as alleged exhibits recovered from Bobi Wine’s room at Pacific Hotel.
“While searching the rooms of Kyagulanyi at around midday on Tuesday, the security team found a small bag containing 15 phones, a GPS reader, SMG rifles, six red T-shirts and other items. Kassiano Wadri (one of the candidates) was also arrested and found with a pistol with 12 rounds of ammunition,” Ms Angucia told the press in Arua Town yesterday.
Asked whether these were privately licensed guns, Angucia said: “Our ballistic experts are still verifying them because they have the serial numbers.”
The AK47 guns are labelled No. UE 0471-1998 and 5643013.
However, the management of Pacific Hotel refuted the police claims and counter-accused the security forces of looting the hotel and robbing guests of various valuables.
Mr Luiji Candia, the owner of Pacific Hotel, alleged that the security personnel ransacked all rooms, stole money, laptops of guests and many other valuables.
“These people (security operatives) did not get any gun here. They should be ashamed of telling lies to the public that they got guns here. If they got the guns from somewhere, they should tell the public instead of blaming our hotel,” Mr Candia said.
The police and military raided Pacific Hotel on Monday evening following the violence that culminated in the shooting of Bobi Wine’s driver, Yasin Kawuma, who was buried yesterday. He was shot inside his boss’s car near Pacific Hotel. Bobi Wine was not in the car.
Mr Candia alleged that the security forces broke doors of the hotel’s Room 22 during the search and arrested two of the staff and beat them up. One of the staff was released on Tuesday afternoon while another, a female, was still in custody at Arua Central Police Station by last evening.
Mr Candia claimed the security forces stole valuables worth Shs80m, including property for the hotel and guests.