A top Kampala law firm, Kampala Associated Advocates (KAA), says it has been instructed to drag to court a notorious police constable (PC) by the name of Alex Katungi, who is attached to the Environment Protection Unit of the Uganda Police Force.
Katungi recently worked with former MP Mwesigwa Rukutana and media platforms like the Observer newspaper to orchestrate a character-assassination campaign targeted at Deputy IGG Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe. She was accused of degrading the wetland in the Kajjansi neighborhood, allegedly by constructing a house in a protected area, whereas it was not.
It was also claimed that when Katungi, who was long ago recalled to leave environment protection-related operations in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area and return to police headquarters for redeployment, intervened and tried to shut down the construction, Muhairwe intervened using her big office. The lawyers say all this is untrue and merely fabricated.
It was further claimed that when she intervened, Muhairwe instigated torture of Katungi, who was forced to kneel down and apologize to someone called Robert Asiimwe, who was alleged to be her son, whereas he was not. That Muhangi was verbally threatened by Muhairwe, who also ordered him to part with Ugx3m and give it to Asiimwe, which the lawyers say is totally false and untrue.
Katungi (against whom many Kajjansi, Munyonyo, Seguku, Katale, Kasenge, Nakawuka, Sisa, Kisubi, Kitovu-Katende, and Bweya residents and clay extractors in Wakiso district had earlier on been complaining, alleging torture, extortion, and human rights violations) used his close associate, veteran lawyer Mwesigwa Rukutana, to put his claims in writing in a huge document that was widely circulated to big government offices and to media outlets. These included the weekly Observer and several online platforms and websites. The KAA lawyers have since been instructed to sue all these in civil courts for propagating defamatory content against the person of Anne Muhairwe.
Besides the media platforms, which propagated and amplified the defamatory content as uttered by the policeman, Anne Muhairwe has also opted to take on Alex Katungi personally in a separate suit. Her lawyers have contended that a morally disputed actor like Katungi can’t stand anywhere and be tolerated disparaging their client’s good name and hard-earned reputation.
That all the stuff he uttered against Muhairwe, through his lawyer and media platforms, was totally fabricated and untrue, something for which her lawyers are determined to make Alex Katungi sanctioned and made to pay. The lawyers have written to Katungi, giving him strictly seven days with which to publicly retract his utterances and apologize to Muhairwe or else face the full wrath of the law under the law on defamation.
He must also pay 3bn to atone for the reputational damage Muhairwe has endured as a result of his defamatory content. And gratefully, money has never been a problem for Alex Katungi, who is rumored to be stinking rich with huge real estate property and posh hotels in upscale Kampala neighborhoods of Munyonyo and others.
A recent special report in the Independent news magazine depicted Alex Katungi as a de facto very powerful policeman even when he has such a lower rank. A lot of rot relating to his field operations could come up during the proceedings of court should Alex Katungi fail to reach some understanding with the aggrieved Anne Muhair on good time.
