I sacrificed my eye for peace and democracy – Gen. Tumwine  

The Minister of Security, Gen. Elly Tumwine, has said that he sacrificed his eye for peace and democracy in Uganda and anybody talking about their sacrifices as he is accused should withdraw it.

“I have one eye, what was it for? Many of our struggles to bring democracy and enjoy this peace is not something you don’t want to hear, whether you like it or not it’s a fact,” he said before Rules Committee of parliament.

Gen. Tumwine said this as he appeared before Rules Committee of parliament where he was summoned over allegations that he accosted Dokolo Woman MP, Cecilia Ogwal following a statement she made in parliament that he had pulled a gun on her in the Seventh Parliament.

He also appeared on an issue raised by Bukonjo West County MP, Godfrey Katusabe, that he Gen. Tumwine made the comments about the shoot-to-kill order following the deployment of the police and army to quell riots in Kasese district when Mirama abattoir was shutdown.

Interfacing with committee members, Tumwine said he was disappointed and felt it was mob justice when MPs discussed him in parliament and not given an opportunity to give his perspective over the matter that was raised against him.

“Am I accused of saying that we have sacrificed for this democracy?  Am I accused of saying that our sacrifice has brought this atmosphere? Anybody who talks about our sacrifice as an accusation should withdraw it. Actually we are not investigating Tumwine, we are investigating parliament. Are we doing the right thing? If Tumwine is the problem, then let it be established, I am ready to sacrifice for the good of this nation,” he said

Adding “When I look at the allegations which am supposed to respond to, first there is a question of utterances of demeaning parliament, how can i demean my parliament? There is nobody who loves this parliament more than me.”

Bukooli islands MP, George Abbot Ouma, however, lashed out at him saying, When we bring democracy, we fight and we sacrifice it is something known to everybody and it should not be a song whenever we go, bringing democracy does not give us leeway in any way to use it as a tool to infringe on others.

Yesterday, Cecilia Ogwal appeared before the committee and vowed not to forgive Gen. Tumwine. Cecilia Ogwal alleged that there were attempts of tampering with evidence saying, “Gen. Elly Tumwine, being the Minister of Security, could have ordered the tampering of the evidence as recorded by the CCTV cameras.”

She also told the Committee that the incident of Gen. Tumwine pulling a gun on her during the Seventh Parliament followed a heated debate in the House on the subject of indoor spraying of DDT.

“He was promoting the use of DDT but we were opposing it because we wanted to protect organic farming. So when he felt that our arguments were too strong for him, his response was to hold the gun at me,” Cecilia Ogwal said.

She added that Gen. Tumwine, at the time, ‘physically attacked’ the Deputy Speaker (Jacob Oulanyah) when the latter was Chairperson of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee.