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KAMPALA � Former Director General of the External Security Organisation (ESO), Maj. Gen. Fred Oketcho, has refused to vacate a "safe house" near Fairway Hotel, Kampala.
A safe house is a reference to an illegal detention house where perceived or real government enemies are kept and usually tortured.
Oketcho, who lost his ESO job in 2001 to Mr David Pulkol, had converted the safe house on Plot 1 on Kafu Road into a residence for his family, a security source said yesterday.
Pulkol, now a member of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), was dropped in 2003. President Yoweri Museveni replaced him Mr Makku Iga.
An ESO source said the multimillion bungalow next to Fairway Hotel has been rented by ESO for over 10 years as a safe house for secret State guests and special security operations.
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DROPPED IN 2003: Pulkol |
ESO pays $2,000 (about Shs1.7 million) rent for the house per month.
But ESO has failed to pay rent for the safe house and the arrears have reached $10,000 (about Shs18 million).
This has prompted the landlord, Dairy Development Authority (DDA), a government parastatal, to ask Oketcho to vacate.
ESO sources said during the DDA board meeting, the members decided that the parastatal leaves Crusader House, which they rent, on Portal Avenue for their house on Kafu Road.
In a letter to Makku dated October 11, 2004, DDA informed ESO to tell Oketcho to vacate the house by December 31 of the same year. But Oketcho has reportedly not responded.
On January 17 this year, DDA lawyers, Buwule & Mayiga Advocates wrote to Oketcho informing him of their intention to evict him unless he vacated the house by Monday next week.
The letter is copied to Director General ESO, the Inspector General o
f
Government (IGG), Uganda Human Rights Commission and DDA Executive Director, Dr. N. Twinamatsiko.
"We are informed by our client that you are illegally occupying their premises since you have no tenancy agreement with our client," the lawyers wrote to Oketcho.
"The tenancy agreement which our client had with your employers expired on December 31, 2004 and was not renewed. Our client now needs the premises for use as offices to cut down on their operating costs," the lawyers said.
They advised Oketcho to leave the house without further delay.
"Our instructions are therefore to advise you to make immediate arrangements to vacate the premises and any failure on your part to comply, you will be held personally liable for all attendant losses and costs...if you have not vacated the premises by the January 31, 2005. Our strict instructions are to ensure your forceful eviction at your cost, embarrassment and peril," the lawyers wrote.
Makku and Oketch
o were
not available for a comment yesterday as they were reportedly out of offices.
But top officials in ESO are reportedly unhappy with Oketcho for failing to vacate the house.
They said the building no longer serves its purpose as a safe house because of the private developments that have taken place in the neighbourhood.
"Besides, he has got a personal house in Mutundwe (Nateete) where he can comfortably stay with government paying less than what it will pay for the house on Kafu Road," a senior ESO official said on anonymity.
The wrangle between Oketcho and DDA comes at the time when ESO is going through financial difficulties as a result of budget cuts affecting many government departments.
The Mobile Telephone Network (MTN) and uganda telecom Limited (UTL) are threatening to disconnect the intelligence body over telephone bills of about Shs400 million.
On the other hand utl is also demanding Shs140 million from ESO and has threatened to e
xecute
disconnection. The two telecom service providers have informed ESO that they would withdraw their services to the organisation.
DDA's lawyer, Mr Francis Buwule, said they were taking steps to regain occupancy of the house from Oketcho.
"I have learnt that the management of DDA has been approached for negotiations over a new tenancy agreement. These talks are ongoing," Buwule said. |
