Eric Sakwa Joseph is now temporarily jobless after being ordered to immediately handover the Jinja RDC office to his aide – the District Internal Security Officer [DISO].
His dismissal from office was authorised by the Secretary to the Office of the President, Hajji Yunus Kakande.
Mr Kakande, in a letter to Mr Sakwa dated 4, May 2020, said the DISO will occupy the former’s office in acting capacity until otherwise decided.
The letter further indicates that he [Sakwa] will be getting half of his monthly salary until he’s fully replaced by the appointing authority.
His problems stem from his shocking arrest, arraignment before Jinja Grade One Magistrate, Hope Anne Kyomuhangi, who eventually sent him, alongside two others, to Kirinya government prison on 24 April 2020.
Sakwa, 38, and accomplices were read three counts of manslaughter, robbery and malicious damage of property.
Prosecution heard that Sakwa in the company of police and some youth beat up the now deceased, Charles Isanga of Lwanda village, Mafubira sub-county, leading to his death.
Prosecution further avers that the incident happened between 22 March and 17 April, 2020 when Sakwa together with two others, namely Azimbwe Bumali, alias Chris Umar and Simba Mohamed, alias Medi, robbed eggs, sodas, beers, cash of shs80,000 and other shop items, amounting to shs429,000.
Charges levied on Sakwa attracted anger from a number of locals who clarified the deceased was a patient of hypertension and diabetes.
Some say he had defaulted from taking the tablets because he left it [tablets] in Kampala after the COVID-19 lockdown caught him in Jinja. This thinkable ‘evidence’ was not presented before Court.
TND News has since learnt that Sakwa was facing several battles from elites but had, until his arrest, massive support from the locals.
One of his prominent nemesis is the Kiira Regional Police Commander [RPC] Paul Nkore. The RPC, according to many sources we talked to, is very happy to see the sun set on Sakwa.
However, his subordinate police officers are sad on Sakwa’s many problems. Others are calling it ‘worst days in their career’”.
For long, the former RDC, Sakwa, has been publicly announcing that the Jinja Municipality West MP, Balyeku Moses Grace was fighting him and wanted to kill him.
The two have been in confrontation primarily over land scandals in the district. A case in point is Tirupati land. This piece of landissituated on plot 24 B Kyabazinga Way in Nalufenya B village near the New Bridge.
The land above hit the headlines when Sakwa not only took the matter to the Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire but also testified as witness before the Inquiry.
Tirupati is a 13 acres piece of land that was subleased to Tirupati Development Uganda Ltd but some mafia dealers snatched it and acquired titles which were later sold to the unsuspecting businessman, Jay Manglal Patel. This land under contest was sold to businessman Jay by Jinja Municipality West MP, Moses Grace Balyeku.
The Commission, sitting last year, recommended the cancellation of the freehold title since it was erroneously obtained. To this, MP Balyeku vowed he wouldn’t relent, claiming he had spent shs2.4bn to compensate individuals who had bought the land.
Since then, Sakwa and MP Balyeku, who subscribes to the ruling government Sakwa is serving, have been total archenemies. However, last week, the two met at Busoga Kingdom Headquarters in Bugembe, after attending a Kingdom’s event.
According to our communicator who captured the photo of the two standing together, for the first time in many months, Mr Balyekeu was heard telling Sakwa, “Let’s work together, let’s stop fighting each other.”
More exclusive on Sakwa’s downfall tomorrow