Police have admitted difficulties in explaining how people reported missing or allegedly picked up by unidentified security operatives later reappear at police stations and are immediately produced before courts of law.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, James Ochaya, made the admission on Thursday while appearing before the Central Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament alongside other senior police officials.

Members of Parliament questioned the police over the force’s ability to account for individuals whose whereabouts become unknown following alleged arrests by security personnel.

Ochaya acknowledged that the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and subsequent reappearance of some individuals remain difficult for police to explain.

Mbale City Industrial Division Member of Parliament Karim Masaba challenged the police to clarify whether the force remains in charge of arrests and detention, particularly in cases where individuals allegedly disappear for days before resurfacing in police custody and being charged in court.

Masaba cited the case of former Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, who reportedly disappeared shortly after being granted bail by the High Court in July and later resurfaced at Nateete Police Station before being taken to court.

He questioned why police could not account for Kivumbi during the period when his family, lawyers and Parliament were demanding information about his whereabouts, yet the force took charge of him once he resurfaced and proceeded to prefer criminal charges against him.

In response, Ochaya said such cases were particularly difficult to explain, especially where individuals allegedly appear at police stations after periods during which police had denied holding them.

The admission comes amid continued questions from Parliament and the public over the whereabouts and treatment of people reported missing following alleged arrests by security agencies.

By Francis Lubega