Thirteen Ugandan aviation officials remanded in detention
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Nile Post
Thirteen officials from Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority have been remanded until 18 November after denying charges of negligence, theft of electrical equipment and interference with airport infrastructure. Their lawyers are challenging their detention conditions before the Entebbe court, according to Nile Post.
Thirteen employees of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the authority responsible for civil aviation in Uganda, have been remanded in Kigo prison until 18 November after appearing before the Entebbe magistrates’ court. They pleaded not guilty to separate charges of negligence, theft of electrical equipment and interference with critical airport infrastructure, Nile Post reports.
Their lawyers Bruno Sserunkuma and Tonny Tumukunde requested their release on bail, citing their detention conditions. Sserunkuma said some of the accused had been sleeping on the floor since their arrest and that their transfer from Entebbe to Natete was making access to their lawyers and families more difficult, Nile Post reports.
In one of the cases, four CAA employees, including James Mubiru, director of information technology, Doreen Atukwase, Richard Mulenzi and engineer Geoffrey Wanyama, are facing charges over alleged failures linked to airport server security. Prosecutors accuse Mubiru in particular of failing to adequately supervise his subordinates, while Atukwase and Mulenzi are accused of failing to properly secure the keys to the server room. Wanyama is separately charged with failing to repair and maintain a faulty biometric locking system, according to Nile Post.
The arrests followed an unannounced visit to Entebbe International Airport by the Minister of Works and Transport the previous week, during which concerns were reportedly raised about the airport’s operation and management, Nile Post reports.
