The Observer
Thursday, July 07, 2011
The arrest of the terror suspect was executed only after lawyers from Majoli, Bogere & Mutakirwa Co Advocates from whom he had sought help, turned him over to security agencies after the suspect’s conduct raised eyebrows. According to highly placed sources, a young man with a Danish pseudonym Orgard Alexander Hjollund, believed to be a national of Iran, slipped through a dragnet and flew from Copenhagen to Entebbe International Airport using a false Danish passport.
Appearing to be suspicious upon arrival, the police arrested and detained him. He sought the help of the law firm when he was taken to court in Entebbe. Unknown to him, one of the lawyers in the firm happened to be an army officer, Col Fred Bogere, now in private practice.
Sources said the suspect appeared restless and jittery before his lawyers, who were trying to secure his release if he had committed no offence.
“There were efforts to get help from the Danish embassy, but he seemed bothered. We thought the staff at the embassy could help and clear him, but he was reluctant and anxious,” a source said.
He only spoke Arabic and efforts to communicate to him through a man who spoke Swedish did not yield results.
“We thought the man could understand Swedish because we were told that people from the Scandinavian countries understand each others’ dialects,” the source said.
Out of detention on police bond, the suspect with an array of contacts outside, appeared a master of deception, refusing to reveal his place of abode – which only led to more suspicion. As sleuths carried out further investigations, they discovered that the name of the suspect was Mustapha Kadil alias Khodavedhi.
We have been told that Col Bogere, with a background in intelligence, used his tactical nous to further interrogate the suspect. Bogere, who served as an army representative in the 7th Parliament, reportedly asked someone to monitor the client’s movements, which unravelled yet another strange clue about him.
“They [lawyers] expected him to be sleeping in a hotel, but the man was found to be sleeping behind Namirembe Road. Why would someone with Danish citizenship sleep behind Namirembe? At least he should have slept in town or Ntinda,” our source said.
According to this source, whenever the suspect communicated with his lawyers, his telephone number was always concealed. Later, a woman claiming to be the suspect’s mother, called the lawyers purportedly from Denmark, speaking fluent English. But the lawyers got suspicious when the country code showed the call had been made in Saudi Arabia.
“The woman told the lawyers to help and secure his release and even wired US$ 400 to the lawyers to help in his release,” said the source.
Later on, someone else telephoned the lawyers inquiring about the suspect and also pleaded that they help secure his release. This call indicated the country code of Iran. Bogere, who fought in the Luwero bush war alongside the current crop of UPDF generals, reportedly informed his colleague, Inspector General of Police Maj Gen Kale Kayihura, about the suspicious individual.
“He [Bogere] was faced with the ethical duty of protecting his client, but realised that national security was a bigger obligation,” our source revealed.
Kayihura then handed two police officers to Bogere to carry out more investigations. However, the officers dragged their feet until the lawyers contacted the Joint Anti-Terrorism Unit (JATT). The arrest finally came five days after Kayihura had met Bogere, said our source.
After the lawyers contacted the Danish embassy, sources have told The Observer, a meticulous search revealed that the man was not a Danish citizen.
“The embassy staff wondered how he had managed to get the passport,” said the source.
Meanwhile, the lawyers were receiving phone calls from the UK, Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, asking them to intervene and have the man freed. Security sources have revealed that after interrogation, the suspect revealed that he was an Iranian citizen. He was later transferred to Luzira Prison. Abbas Byakagaba, the police director of counter-terrorism, said he was out of office and could not accurately recall that particular case.
Kale Kayihura did not pick his mobile phone when contacted. Col Bogere and his partners in the law firm declined to comment about the suspect when contacted.
In September 2010, Dutch military police arrested a British man of Somali descent on suspicion of terrorism as he transited through Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport en route from England to Uganda, prosecutors said.