Kakaire A.kirunda, Timothy Oboth & Richard Egadu
21 March 2006
Mbale — POLICE yesterday raided Open Gate FM Radio, arrested two presenters and picked up computers, two days after two ministers nearly fought MP Nandala Mafabi outside the radio studios.
The Minister for the Presidency, Dr Beatrice Wabudeya, and Mr Michael Werikhe, the State Minister for Energy confronted Budadiri West MP Mafabi at the radio station on Saturday accusing him of defaming them. Mafabi had been on a talk show on the radio.
Non-uniformed policemen arrived at the radio station at 1pm and attempted to take the on-air computer too.
Mr David Opio, who hosted Mafabi on his Mwananchi talk show, was arrested together with Ongole Manase, a studio attendant.
The two were briefly held on Saturday and released on police bond after recording statements on disobeying statutory duties and destroying evidence.
"They either did not record (the talk-show) as required by the law or they recorded and destroyed the evidence that could have been used in judicial proceedings. Their case is straight forward," the CID Officer, Mr Isaac Oketcho, said.
The charges attract jail terms of two and seven years respectively.
Opio told journalists as he was being led to the cells that the radio station's computer developed a problem and failed to record.
But police insisted there were other means of recording the show without using a computer.
On Saturday afternoon, ministers Wabudeya and Werikhe confronted Mafabi outside the radio station and later at Mbale Police Station.
Eyewitnesses said the ministers rushed to the radio premises on Republic Street shortly after midday, raging with anger that the MP had defamed them during the talk-show.
"Whether Mafabi wants or not, he is going to die today. Today I am going to die with someone," Werikhe reportedly said as he punched in the air.
After the confrontation, Mafabi told reporters at his Mountain Inn Guest House on Bugwere Road in Mbale town that the two ministers had charged at him.
"They confronted me just at my lawyers' premises on the same building as Open Gate. They said I defamed them and they wanted to tussle it out the Kigisu way (physically)," he told journalists.
He said he had gone to consult his lawyers Dagira & Co. Advocates about his assault case which is in court.
However Wabudeya denied confronting Mafabi.
"Whoever does not know Mafabi would believe his lies. How could a mere woman like me fight a man? Me and my colleague Werikhe had just gone to talk to Mafabi to ask him why he has continued to abuse us on radio. He instead hid in his lawyers' office and started calling his people on phone to mobilise the youth to beat us," Wabudeya told Daily Monitor by telephone yesterday.
She said they only called in the police to disperse the mob that Mafabi had mobilised against them.
"Going to radio and abusing President Museveni and me has become his daily work now. I am sounding the last warning. He should also stop belittling the President by calling him a thief over radio. It's high time he stopped or I will deal with him," Wabudeya said.
Efforts to contact Werikhe were fruitless as his phone was off. The CID boss, Mr Oketcho, said police had summoned the ministers and Mafabi to record statements.
The ministers arrived at the police station before Mafabi, but when he arrived, a fresh scuffle nearly ensued as Wabudeya instructed the police to arrest him.
Word went around town that Mafabi was being arrested and soon his supporters streamed to the police station on Republic Street.
Mafabi was later released on police bond.
He was due to report to police again yesterday.
As the situation threatened to degenerate into chaos, the police started beating the rowdy supporters.
"We are ready to die today. We want our man out," one supporter shouted as he took to his heels with the police pursuing him.
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