By Charles Etukuri
Captain Robert Namara the military officer at the center of gun related violent incident in the wee hours of Sunday June 19 2022, incident with Musician Moses Ssali popularly known as Bebe Cool has finally spoken out.
The officer who is attached to the Crime Intelligence Directorate of the Uganda Police Force and is now admitted at Gemini Medical Centre in Kampala denied claims he pointed his gun at Bebe Cool, but that the gun fell out from his waistline where it had been stacked as he was forcefully pulled out of his car.
The officer accused Bebe Cool of trying to mobilize public sympathy and yet it was his bodyguards who assaulted him.
This was after Bebe Cool on Sunday said the officer had pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot him after he knocked his car.
In an exclusive interview, Capt. Namara said, he went to Pier One Lounge and Restaurant located on Ntinda Kiwatule Road next to Kobil Petrol Station at around 2:00 am but that their parking was full.
“As I was still in my car, someone approached me and told me the big man (Bebe Cool) wanted to leave and that I should create space for his car to pass. I obliged and reversed my car but unfortunately my tier brushed against his car prompting his four bodyguards to surround my car. They kept on telling me I had knocked the big man. When I opened my car door, they pulled me out and started beating me up. It was then that my gun which was stacked on the waistline fell,” Namara said.
Namara said the bouncers never gave him time to explain himself. “Bebe Cool then started recording a video shortly after the police patrol car arrived.
I tried to identify myself to the officer Moses Wegulo but he was acting under instruction from Bebe Cool and he instead handcuffed me. The beating resumed when I was under handcuffs and one of the bodyguards identified as Cobra landed a blow on my jaw,” Namara added.
He said he was driven to Ntinda Police Station and thrown into the cells while still under handcuffs.
He was however lucky to make a call before the officers locked him up.
At around 2:00 am, officers from the Crime Intelligence Directorate came to the station and demanded his release. Namara who was now bleeding was picked and taken to hospital where sources said he was possibly nursing a broken jaw.
Eye witness account and CCTV footage at the venue show Capt. Namara arriving at the Piers bar entrance in a saloon car at around 1:00 am. He parks by the entrance of the bar trying to look for space. It was while he was still in his car that a bouncer approaches him and asks him to move his car so that Bebe Cool’s car could pass.
Namara’s car is seen moving his car and its then that his car tyre brushes Bebe Cool’s car prompting his bodyguards led by one Cobra to surround his car.
They then flung open the car door and pull out Namara before raining blows on him. It’s in the process of pulling him out of the car that his pistol that was stacked inside his shirt drops and one of the guards picks it.
An eye witness who spoke to the Kampala Sun said as he was leaving the bar at around 1:00 am he found over 5 heavily built men surrounding the saloon car and Bebe Cool was shouting issuing instructions.
“I tried to ask some of the people who were also watching the fracas from a distance on what was going on. I was informed that a drunkard had knocked Bebe Cool’s V8 as he attempted to reverse in the parking.
Of course, there is no way many of us would pick our cars to go home until the matter was settled. The crowds kept growing, and I had to move near to watch what was happening,” the eyewitness aid.
He noted that as he got nearer, he saw one of the men pushing his hand in the saloon car fighting to pull out the car key. “This was on orders of Bebe Cool who insisted that the man should be arrested as he called out his military guard and other security guards of the bar to take action”.
The eye witness also confirmed Namara was beaten by the men.
At around 3:00 am, the Kiira Road Police Station Onesmus Mwesigwa stormed the police station to ascertain what had happened after he reportedly received calls over the incident.
Kampala Metropolitan Police Deputy Spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire on Wednesday said the matter was being handled within security but said that police has since taken action against 6 officers who responded and further escalated the situation at Ntinda Police station and removed the Namara from the cells. He said the officers were currently detained at Railway Police.
“The conflict arose after a minor accident. Preliminary information gathered indicates that while trying to get parking at the bar, the officer brushed Bebe Cool’s vehicle which forced the latter to come out of the vehicle and a disagreement ensued,” Owoyesigyire said.
He said police had retrieved the CCTV footage and are reviewing the contents to establish whether a gun was drawn as alleged by Bebe Cool.
“We are also looking into the allegation of the physical exchange between the two parties which could have attracted other friends. We have reached out to the singer and obtained his account of events. We also managed to trace Captain Namara whom we found at Gemini Medical Centre and as soon as he stabilizes, we shall be able to record his statement,” Owoyesigyire added.
Owoyesigyire advised drivers to always be extra careful while reacting to traffic incidents as emotions can put one’s life in danger.
Pier One Lounge and Restaurant declined to comment about the incident and referred the Kampala Sun to Bebe Cool. Bebe Cool also declined to comment in the wake of the new revelations and noted that the issue was being handled.
Bebe Cool’s initial claim was that Captain Namara wanted to shoot him after he (Namara) knocked Bebe Cool’s car. He was later disarmed and taken to Ntinda Police station
