Former Kampala Police Commander Bakaleke Resurfaces after 5 Years on the Run.

The Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Siraj Bakaleke, who previously served as the Kampala Metropolitan Regional Police Commander, has resurfaced after being absent for almost five years.

Bakaleke left the country following allegations that he had unlawfully arrested and detained Korean nationals.

In 2018, ACP Bakaleke fled the country after being suspended from duty in May. The suspension was to allow for investigations into allegations that he was involved in the embezzlement of Shs1.4 billion from two South Korean nationals, Park Seunghoon and Jang Shingu Un. The Koreans had come to Uganda earlier in the year to search for gold.

In November 2018, ACP Bakaleke was declared Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL) by police management after being absent from duty for over 30 days. T

Police issued instructions to the District Police Commander of Buyende to search for Bakaleke at his father's home in Innuula Village, Bugaya Sub County. The instructions were to advise Bakaleke to report back to his duty station before November 25, 2018, failure to do so would result in him being declared a deserter and wanted.

The District Police Commander of Buyende reported that the search for Bakaleke in his area of jurisdiction was unsuccessful. This report was then submitted to the Director of Human Resource Administration. Two months later, Bakaleke was declared a deserter by the police, even though they had been served with an arrest warrant from the Anti-Corruption Court. The warrant required them to produce Bakaleke to face charges of fraud, kidnap, and abuse of office.

“After several years he reported to police headquarters and he was forwarded to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations where he recorded a statement on charges of desertion. Desertion is a criminal offence and when you desert from the force and you are declared a deserter after 21 days and after that you become wanted. So, for all these years he was on our wanted list for desertion,” Police spokesperson SCP Fred Enanga told journalists on Monday.

According to Mr. Enanga, Bakaleke was recently apprehended and subsequently released on police bond. He also stated that they are planning to submit the case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on April 3, 2023, for review.

The DPP's legal opinion will guide their next course of action since there was an existing case file of Bakaleke allegedly obtaining money through false pretenses involving some Koreans. However, the case had been put on hold since Bakaleke, the alleged key suspect, was not present.

The South Koreans had come to Uganda to search for gold and were arrested from Acacia Mall in Kampala when they were supposed to meet their lawyer. It was reported that on the day of their meeting, they were surrounded by security operatives, who pointed guns at them and demanded they hand over the money they had with them. The security operatives then took a total of Shs1.4 billion from the South Koreans before arresting and detaining them at Katwe Police Station. The Koreans were later informed that they were facing terrorism charges and would be deported.

It was later revealed that ACP Bakaleke had authorized the deployment of security operatives based on a tip-off from the lawyer who had suspicions that his two clients were involved in dubious activities and could be financial terrorists.

Reportedly, the police officers used some of the extorted money to buy two air tickets with Emirates air. However, they missed the flight, causing confusion among the plotters of the deportation. They quickly bought new tickets with Rwanda Air, but they were arrested before the South Koreans could board the plane.

Bakaleke, along with lawyer Paul Wanyoto Mugoya, Nabeta Samuel Mulowooza (the Managing Director of Eye Power Engineering Company), and police officers Robert Munezero, Innocent Nuwagaba, Robert Ray Asiimwe, Junior Amanya, Babu Gastavas and Kenneth Zirintuusa, were accused of fraud, kidnap, and abuse of office. While eight of the suspects have already taken a plea in court, Bakaleke and Wanyoto have not been charged, and arrest warrants have been issued against them.