Following the demolition of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Ndeeba on Sunday night, President Yoweri Museveni has ordered that action be taken against all public officers those involved.
“The President has been briefed and has directed that all public officers involved are held accountable,” the head of the State House Anti-Corruption unit, Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema says..
She noted that the acting director in charge of Physical Planning in KCCA, Ivan Katongole has since been arrested for granting permission for the demolition of the church.
Documents that have been made public indicate that Katongole gave permission to have the church that has stood for over 40 years demolished on July 30, after a fee of shs50,000 was paid and a demolition permit for a period of two months was issued.
“The demolition shall be carried out strictly during the weekends and off peak hours to void interruptions of traffic and other businesses within the vicinity of the site. Use of simple conventional plants and tools for demolition shall be used,” the acting KCCA director in charge of Physical Planning wrote in a letter copied to the Lubaga division town clerk, director revenue collection and building inspector in the division.
The State House Anti-Coruption unit also arrested three police commanders and 11 other people.
“The demolition was carried out from about 10pm on the night of August, 8, 2020 with full knowledge of the Katwe DPC, OC station Ndeeba and all officers under them contrary to established guidelines and procedures of the judiciary, Ministry of Lands and Police,” Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema said.
Prior to the Sunday demolition exercise, court had issued an order stopping the same and consequently, police had been deployed at the church premises to stop anyone, including Christians from accessing the building.