Deputy Chief of Defence Forces Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding has revealed how security agencies spent about two weeks searching for retired Lt. Gen. Peter Elwelu before eventually locating him in Teso. Speaking on Etop Radio in Soroti City, Okiding explained that the search followed intelligence reports about alleged recruitment of youths in the region, an investigation that eventually brought Elwelu’s name into the picture.

According to Okiding, the investigations started around August and September after reports emerged that young people in Kapelebyong District were being mobilised with promises of employment in cement factories in Soroti and Moroto. Concerned residents reportedly raised questions about the recruitment, prompting Okiding to travel to the area to establish what was happening and where the youths were being taken.

Security officers became suspicious when they discovered that the youths had been transported to Kumi District instead of the places where they had allegedly been promised jobs. Okiding said he visited Ammi Church in Omatenga Parish, which is headed by Rev. Lazarus Odwan, and established that 84 young people had been accommodated there. Church leaders reportedly explained that Pastor Stephen Okaal had introduced the youths as his visitors.

Investigators arrested Okaal and some of the youths for questioning as they tried to establish the purpose of the mobilisation. Okiding said the young people told security officers that they had been promised a monthly salary of Shs1.8 million, a lunch allowance of Shs15,000 and Shs10,000 for supper. He also expressed surprise that many of them had limited formal education, with some reportedly having dropped out of school in Primary Six.

It was during the investigations that retired Gen Peter Elwelu was mentioned, with Okiding saying information obtained from people in custody implicated the former Deputy CDF and another individual in the alleged recruitment. He said President Yoweri Museveni subsequently directed him to contact Elwelu and ask him to explain his alleged involvement. However, finding the retired general proved difficult because the telephone numbers security officers knew were switched off.

Okiding said he decided to visit Elwelu’s home but did not find him there. His wife reportedly informed the officers that he had left home for prayers about two weeks earlier. The Deputy CDF then spent approximately two weeks in Teso trying to establish his whereabouts, contacting some of Elwelu’s friends and seeking information from presidential adviser on Teso affairs Charles Elasu, who reportedly said he had not heard from the retired general for some time.

The search eventually succeeded after security officers used their connections within Elwelu’s church community to establish where he could be found. Okiding said the retired general agreed to meet him, and he personally went to see him, explaining that he had been sent by the President. Senior intelligence officers, including Maj. Gen. Richard Otto and Maj. Gen. Christopher Damulira, were also in the region conducting investigations and later joined the team. Okiding said Elwelu welcomed them and mentioned that he had previously tried to contact Otto without success.

After the meeting, Okiding said he took Elwelu from the place where he had been paying for accommodation and offered him somewhere to spend the night at his residence. He added that Elwelu was yet to meet Museveni, who is expected to hear his side of the story and give him an opportunity to respond to the allegations. Okiding also confirmed that the youths arrested during the investigations had been released, while Okaal and a few other suspects whose identities were not disclosed remained in security custody. The allegations against Elwelu have not been established as proven wrongdoing.