Mega Fm & Agency
The Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Sam Okiding, has dismissed claims that the army contacted former Minister Musa Ecweru to help locate retired Lt Gen Peter Elwelu, saying the military had its own established procedures for handling the matter.
Okiding said the search for Elwelu followed reports that young men were being recruited in Teso under the pretext of offering them jobs at a cement factory, but were instead being transported to different locations under unclear circumstances.
He made the remarks during an interview with a Soroti-based Etop radio station, where he sought to reassure residents of Teso following Elwelu’s arrest over alleged subversive activities in the sub-region.
Okiding said he received instructions to summon Elwelu to respond to the allegations.
He said his attempts to reach the retired general were unsuccessful because his telephone numbers were switched off.
When he visited Elwelu’s home, his wife reportedly told him that he had left two weeks earlier. At one location, he found the general’s vehicle and soldiers.
Okiding denied that he had told anyone he had failed to locate Elwelu or that he needed Ecweru or the Arrow Boys to intervene The address followed public statements by Ecweru, the former Minister of Works and Transport, who had held several briefings and threatened to mobilise the Arrow Boys to search for Elwelu if he did not surrender within the time given.
