Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) has asked police to arrest former warder, James Turyatunga for ‘blackmailing’ the institution.
This comes after Turyatunga claimed through various media platforms that he was unfairly dismissed from the Service.
Turyatunga had also alleged that the Director General of Prisons (DCGP) James Mwanje, frustrated him after failing to raise a bribe to clear him to pursue his studies.
However, on Monday, Prisons spokesperson, Frank Baine clarified that Turyatunga’s claims are false and unfounded.
“These are all false and baseless allegations,” Baine said.
Instead, he said Turyatunga was fired from Service after he refused to report to his new work station and was absent for 20 days, in violation of the Prisons Act.
“On the October 15, 2021, he was transferred to Koboko Main Prison but refused to report to his assigned workstation, absconding from duty for over twenty-one days,” Baine said.
He added, “Consequently, in accordance with Section 47 of the 2006 Prisons Act, the Prisons Council dismissed him as a deserter on May 3, 2022,”
Accordingly, prior to his transfer, Turyatunga had been posted to Kitalya Mini Max Prison as a custodial Health Worker on June 15, 2020 after completing his training.
According to Baine, despite Turyatunga being advised by several authorities including KCCA Labour Office, Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), Parliament of Uganda and the Inspector General of Government (IGG), to use the right procedures while seeking reinstatement, he resorted to blackmailing the Service through social media and other media platforms.
“Even after the aforementioned authorities advised him to use the right procedures, he refused to comply and instead resorted to blackmail using electronic, print, and social media to tarnish the image of the service and defaming the person of the former DCGP,”
Baine said Turyatunga’s actions were clear reflections of indiscipline and criminal character that could not be tolerated by the Service, further saying the matter has been reported to police to have the former warder arrested.
“In accordance with the 2006 Prisons Act, Section 47 (3), the matter has been forwarded to police to ensure the culprit is brought to book,” Baine said.
