A Ugandan doctor based in Namibia who accused police officers attached to the Directorate of International Police in Uganda of robbing from him Shs300m on bogus charges last year, has committed suicide.

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Dr Livingstone Mugimu, 56, is alleged to have committed suicide at his home at Kikajjo in Makindye Ssabagabo, Wakiso District. He left a note indicating that he was frustrated by the robbery of his property and money by police officers.

Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman, Mr Luke Owoyesigyire, said the deceased is suspected to have consumed a drug that took his life.
“A tin containing suspected poison was recovered from the deceased’s room. The body has been taken for a post mortem and the tin will be delivered to the government analytical laboratory for examination,” Mr Owoyesigyire said on Sunday.

Mr Owoyesigyire added: “He got frustrated after some of his riches were intercepted by Interpol. He wrote several notes to his brother distributing some of the remaining property to his relatives before he took his life”.

On October 6, 2017, Dr Mugimu was intercepted at Mutukula border in Rakai District by personnel from Joint Anti-Terror Taskforce (JATT) and Interpol officers claiming that he had links to Ugandan-Australian doctor Dr Aggrey Kiyingi, who is wanted by Uganda government on terrorism and treason charges. The officers were allegedly tipped by Dr Mugimu’s relatives that he was travelling from Namibia with the money.

The security officers tactically arrested the doctor while he was still in no-man’s land and took the money from him before he could declare it at the customs office.
The law requires any person entering Uganda with more than US$10,000 (Shs36m) to declare it at the customs office.

They then dragged him to Uganda’s territory and immediately detained.
The officers told him that he was laundering money to aid rebellion in Uganda.
The charges were later found out to be bogus.

The security personnel also impounded three of his vehicles he had imported into the country. They did not return his foreign exchange worth Shs300m after being released at Interpol headquarters in Kampala.

Dr Mugimu later complained to Professional Standards Unit leading to the arrest of two officers attached to Uganda National Central Bureau (the directorate of Interpol Uganda) and suspension of the then deputy director of Interpol.

Two junior officers are still on suspension while the former deputy director of Interpol was later transferred by the Inspector General of Police Martins Okoth Ochola to Special Investigations Division as its head.

Dailmonitor