Lt. Gen. Katumba Wamala arrested as Kampala hits a crisis

CBS FM, which is also known as Radio Buganda, reported in its 10:00 p.m. news bulletin of Tuesday February 21 that the commander of the Land Forces of the Ugandan army, Lt. Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, has been arrested.

The radio also said that army had started arresting people in Kampala, although it was not clear whom the arrested people were.

CBS broadcast the story as breaking news but as soon as the female presenter had finished reading the story, a recording was run of the army spokesman, Major Felix Kulaigiye, refuting the story.

The rumour hit Kampala on Tuesday night, further increasing tensions in the already uncertain nation.

That rumour, by itself, will act as a deterrent against the arrest of Wamala and whoever started it could have done so with that goal in mind.

Wamala is reported to have stated in January and last week that if the election was won by the FDC presidential candidate Colonel Kizza Besigye, he Wamala would respect the people's choice.

This declaration is reported to have angered President Museveni. Katumba Wamala, the highest ranking Muganda army officer, was widely viewed as a moderate and was a respected officer.

As things stand today, February 22, 2006, Uganda is entering the crisis that had been expected.

The order has been given for the army to be put on alert and the Reserve Force is also at the ready. In Entebbe, soldiers of the Presidential Guard Brigade have been on the move.

An operative of the External Security Organisation told Radio Katwe that heavy antiaircraft guns have been deployed on all the hills that overlook Entebbe International Airport and the Airforce base.

Radio Katwe yesterday reported that the oil giant Shell sent out an email from its London headquarters warning its staff around the world to avoid Uganda for the time being.

In an interesting memo dated February 20, the security section of the British High Commission in Kampala said in a memo to its staff and British diplomats in Kampala: "A planned NRM rally is due to take place on Kololo Airstrip tomorrow morning (21/02/2006), at 0900 hours. Please avoid the area where possible and take alternate planned routes."

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Uganda Red Cross in Kampala have completed the process of recruiting volunteers and blood stocks in case of violence and other emergencies.

There are reports that hundreds of people have been drawing money from their bank ATM machines.

The international media, from CNN, the BBC, Radio France Internationale, Reuters, the Associated Press, Xinhua, and others have set up media outlets in Kampala.

Aside from the 600 Commonwealth observers and 200 European Union observers, the United States embassy in Kampala, in a press release issued yesterday, said it is dispatching "60 observers comprising of 20 American officers and 40 Ugandan staffers of the Embassy to observe voting and vote counting."