One thing we can confirm is that Captain Edward Ssempijja, the head of the Kabaka Protection Unit (KPU), is no longer on duty. This was confirmed by both the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Kingdom, but the two institutions gave different reasons for why he’s not on duty.
On Wednesday, the UPDF spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Felix Kulayigye, said that Ssempijja, who has been the head of the Kabaka’s security detail, went missing 10 days ago. Captain Ssempijja has been working under the unit for over five years but was appointed head last year.
According to Kulayigye, the officer did not officially inform the army about his whereabouts as required by army regulations.
He further explained that for now, he has only been declared absent, and if he completes 21 days, he will be declared absent without official leave (AWOL).
“If you are declared AWOL, the military suspends your salary payments and declares you a suspected criminal,” he said.
However, according to another story run by the Daily Monitor, Buganda Kingdom Prime Minister (Katikkiro) Charles Peter Mayiga stated that he knows the whereabouts of Captain Ssempijja, as he officially wrote to him before leaving his duty.
Katikkiro Mayiga said that Captain Ssempijja went for further studies abroad.
“Captain Ssempijja wrote to me officially about his absence from service because he was going to continue his studies after obtaining a scholarship to improve his educational levels,” said Katikkiro Mayiga.
When asked why the officer did not also inform the army, he said, “I have no knowledge of military procedures for a person going on leave.”
Mayiga said that they will soon have a meeting with the director of the royal guard to analyze the entire situation.
Meanwhile, the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi, is still out of the country as it was officially stated that he went for medical checkups.
