As the State begins to line up its witnesses, who are about 10 in number, this publication brings you some of those expected to testify against jailed opposition activist Dr Kizza Besigye and his political associate Obeid Lutale, and what they stated in their police statements;
Maj Gen Abel Kandiho, Special Presidential Adviser on Classified Operations
‘I’m of the above particulars with sound mind and do wish to state that it was during the year 2022, while Gen Richard Otto, who was still a military Attaché to South Sudan, approached me with information that there was a White man by the name of Mr Orlando [alias Wilson Andrew] who had been approached by some Ugandans in the diaspora wanting to recruit, train, and acquire firearms to overthrow the Government of Uganda. Upon receiving this information, I tried contacting Mr Orlando, but his phone number was off. I again tasked Gen Otto to continue engaging Mr Orlando.
Later, I got more information from Gen Otto, who worked with Lt Col Dan Atwine, who was heading the Special Investigations Bureau under the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence [since renamed Defence Intelligence and Security] of the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces, to process that information for strategic guidance and action. Gen Otto continued following up on this information. During the year 2023, I got a tour of duty and informed my successor, Gen James Birungi, about this subversive plot for him to follow up. That is where I stopped on handling this matter. That is all I can state to the best of my knowledge.’
Andrew Wilson, aka Orlando, an American business consultant
‘The above particulars are truly mine. I’m of sound mind, and I wish to clearly state that I was in the British Military for five years between 1988 and 1993, after which I went into private security and investigations. I wish to state that I’m also into writing and authoring books, mainly on security and crime.
I’m also associated with another company that has been in operation since 2023. These companies that I work with are largely dealing in investigations and tactical training on firearms.
The company has a website registered as www.tohff.com, and company activities are shown on that website. Our company provides services across the globe, and I have had opportunities to work in the USA, Haiti, Mexico, Colombia, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, and Nigeria, among other countries. Around late 2021, my contact in Somalia gave me details of Brig Gen Richard Otto and I linked up with him via WhatsApp, and I explained to him that I was approached by Mr Joel Wakayima, who told me that he needed a company to provide training to some Ugandans (both living in Uganda and in the diaspora) to overthrow the Government of Uganda.
The contact of Brig Gen Richard Otto was…, and he asked me to get enough information from Mr Wakayima and keep him informed. I was very careful about how to deal with Mr Wakayima because I never wanted to get caught up in terrorism activities, as this would tarnish the name of my company and country, or get me criminally charged since I would be seen to facilitate terrorism and related crimes. Around December 2012, I came to Uganda on a business and travel tour at the invitation of Moses, whom I had linked up with online since 2020, and we had been communicating. In our communication, we discussed the business of dealing in tourism, coffee, and tea.
While in Uganda, upon invitation by Moses, I informed Brig Gen Richard Otto I was in Uganda on a business visit and had linked up with my friend Moses. Upon his request, I then shared contacts of Moses with Gen Otto, who later linked him to Military Intelligence for the pursuit of the security information Mr Wakayima had shared with me. Later, Moses was instructed by officers from the military to inform me to continue engaging Mr Wakayima while giving him feedback to guide the process. During my engagements with Mr Wakayima after a period of two years, he introduced me to Salaam Musumba, whom I talked to on a Zoom call that I recorded the audio for, since I could not record the actual video as other parties were on the same call and would be made aware as Zoom shows recording is ongoing.
We discussed various aspects, including her requesting me to facilitate training for their people in journalism and covert communications with the aim of gathering intelligence on government personnel and supporters within and outside Uganda. Musumba also requested a meeting in Brussels, where she was inviting other people such as the mayor of Kampala, Erias Lukwago, Semujju Nganda, Lubega Mukaku, and Charles Rwomushana. I recorded the Zoom conversation between me, Wakayama, and Musumba on my phone. I was onboarded as their security military adviser for their shadow government. Musumba then requested Wakayima to put me in contact with Dr Besigye, which he did. Indeed, on a date I cannot recall, we had an online meeting with Dr Besigye, which led to a physical meeting a few weeks later in Geneva, Switzerland, on October 29, 2023.
In my first physical meeting with Dr Besigye, he asked me to help him to set up militant networks in Uganda to cause destabilisation of the country.
Here, I met Dr Besigye with Mr Wakayima and Frank Kihehere Atukunda. I booked and paid for Dr Besigye’s flight from Entebbe to Geneva as he had requested. He also provided me with his Ugandan passport number, a copy of which I have with me. Here, we planned for Kisumu training where some of their people were to be trained in covert intelligence and paramilitary tactics. In the same meeting, Dr Besigye further requested me to provide fake Ugandan Shillings, and with the help of some of their affiliate officials in the Bank of Uganda, would inject this fake money into the economy and cause inflation.
I presented Dr Besigye with real Ugandan Shillings and told him that this was fake money, which he believed. I continued communicating with Dr Besgye using a Swiss contact number …and we had several WhatsApp messages exchanged via this number.
After that meeting, I was made to believe that one Frank Kehehere Atukunda had travelled to Uganda to wait for the training in Kisumu, wherein he had planned with Mr Wakayima to stay in Uganda/Kenya to coordinate terrorist actions. They indicated to me that they wanted to poison the President’s water sources on his farms and then kill all the cows. Mr Wakayima was also asking for poison to attack some government officials in Uganda. Such poisons as ricin can be made from castor oil beans, which we discussed. Dr Besigye and his group wanted to prepare attacks on key government security installations and military facilities such as Simba Barracks in Mbarara, 2nd Division Makenke Barracks, Bugema Barracks in Mbale, Bihanga Military School, Kalyoma Mountain Brigade Kabarole, Gaddafi Jinja, Magamaga, Muhooti in Kabarole, Marine Division Luzira, Kalaama Armoured, Kabamba, Kyankwanzi institute, Olive Tambo Kaweweta, Nakaseke, Air force Academy-Nakasongola, Engineering College, Luzira, Junior Staff College-Kimaka, Urban Warfare School-Singo, Karugutu Training School-Ntoroko, Military Intelligence and security school-Nakasongola, Makindye Military Barracks, Kisumu Barracks, Wakiso, Police School, CIID, JAAT-Kibuli and police school- Bwebajja.
They provided these facilities as targets for attack by one of Mr Wakayima’s contacts, called Frank Mulira, a former ADC to the late Dr Kiyingi. We have screenshots of WhatsApp and telegram chats/ messages sent to me by Mr Wakayima, who assured me Dr Besigye was in the know. In addition, I have a copy of the resident permit for Frank Atukunda Kihehere for the Netherlands, a copy of which was provided to investigators in soft copy. The story I told Wakayima and Dr Besigye was that I’m a security and tactical trainer, also working with the Kurdish government company, which was interested in facilitating an operation in overthrowing the Ugandan government in return for business concessions, including access to Ugandan banking sector so as to do money laundering for illicit activities, visas for Kurdish businessmen and politicians, business license, use of airfields for trafficking of illicit goods, including drugs, and using the country as a safe haven for Kurdish fugitives.
Dr Besigye further claimed he had informants inside State House and the military who would provide him with information about the President’s movements and vulnerable points to assist with the planning of the assassination of the President. He said he had loyal military generals in Uganda military, who would assist him in taking over power. Dr Besigye said he had generals who, in the event of a coup, could control power and hold territories seized across the country, where our organisations could coordinate and take full control of the government.
In the meeting of 24th July 2024 in Geneva, I gave up to $5,000 to facilitate the movement of trainees to Kisumu, as he had earlier requested. In this meeting, I recorded videos of our conversation on a covert camera embedded in a mobile phone power bank, which video content I later transferred onto a hard drive for safety, and then later passed over to the investigation team for reference. For the first time, Dr Besigye asked for surface-to-air missiles (air defence), and we discussed the possibilities of attacking Nakasongola airport with drones so that they could destroy helicopters and other military aircraft. Dr Besigye further emphasised he had people within the military (Air Force) who could help him with intelligence and actions to destroy aircraft within Uganda.
On November 16, 2024, together with my associate, I met Dr Besigye with one of his associates. The meeting took place at 108 Riverside Apartment, Nairobi, at around 16.45 hours, and our discussion focused on cooperation between my associates and his shadow government and how they were planning to overthrow the Government of Uganda, how they would start, and how long it would take. Dr Besigye then said he had planned to begin attacking the government in March 2025 through civil disobedience strikes and also start planning for the assassination of the President.
In this meeting in Nairobi, Dr Kizza again asked for surface-to-air missiles and other weapons to attack helicopters and other aircraft. He further said he was engaging groups in DRC to assist him with military assistance, and he said he could arrange a meeting with the Minister of Works of DRC and a senior member of the Ugandan military quickly. As we discussed, I heard a knock on the door, and immediately, I opened it. About four plain-clothed men stormed the meeting, and I escaped, leaving Dr Besigye, his associate, and my Kurdish contact in the room. My colleague and I later linked up, and we came back to Uganda.
Throughout this case, I backed up my recorded information on the cloud and later on micro flash cards before wiping the whole content from all my primary devices for my personal security. I have willingly provided a hard drive containing all the audio-visual recordings, screenshots, documents, WhatsApp chats, Telegram, and other content of all the meetings and communications throughout this operation. This is all I can state. Statement self-recorded. Confirmed true and correct to the best of my knowledge. Recorded on March 24, 2025, at Criminal Investigations Directorate headquarters, Kibuli, Kampala.’
Maj Gen Richard Otto, Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security
‘The aforementioned particulars and address are mine, and I wish to state that around October 2013, I was deployed at Force headquarters in Mogadishu, Somalia, as Chief of Operations. While there, I used to have different meetings with different partners of the UN and other organisations. In December 2019, I was deployed back to Somalia as a Contingent Commander until December 2020. In April 2021. I was appointed the Defence Attaché and deployed to the Uganda Embassy in Juba, South Sudan. While at the embassy, I received a phone call from a White man who introduced himself to me as Orlando and told me that he got my phone contact from his friend in Somalia.
He informed me that he runs a security company and that the purpose of his communication was to inform me about some Ugandans who were seeking his services with intentions to overthrow the Ugandan government. He further told me that he did not want to destabilise the Ugandan government and, therefore, would consult with my leadership in Uganda and, thereafter, revert.
Subsequently, I contacted the then Chief of Military Intelligence, Maj Gen Abel [Kandiho], who guided that I maintain communication with Mr Orlando. I requested him to find out the details about the group, their numbers, the type of training they wanted, location, their leadership, and other relevant details, which he was willing to do. In every communication with Mr Orlando, I kept on updating the then Chief of Military Intelligence, who later took me over the matter and continued with Mr Orlando. This is all I can state to the best of my knowledge. Statement self-recorded and true to the best of my knowledge.’