Fellow Ugandans,
I convey this message to the UAH forum after many hours of restlessness and confusion, for the trust I feel was misplaced. I write this message knowing that many of you will read it with the purpose of understanding and of course, as in every society some may read it with indifference. However, I am not worried about that. This concerns Dr. Henry Gombya and the story he published in the str8chronicle, which I believe many of you have read. I here convey to you my reaction to the story he wrote and published without my prior consent for approval of the contents. He has since not replied to my e-mail I wrote to him expressing my disappointment. However, I convey to you the e-mail to Dr.
Henry Gombya in its entity, so that you may judge his journalistic work for your selves
and perhaps inform me and the forum what you think. This e-mail also puts right the statements which may have been deliberately or otherwise wrongly presented.
The purpose of his visit was to interview me about my case which also had been partly judged by the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The case had attracted many, including the Danish media who came to my residence in Denmark to interview me for the Danish Television. The UNHRC ruled that Denmark observed remedy and to make sure that the mistake never occurs again in the future. However Denmark ignored the ruling of the UNHRC and after waiting two and a half years for the implementaion of the ruling to no avail, I left the country with the purpose of requesting another country to inform Denmark to respect the ruling of the UNHRC.
I hope that this message will give you a better picture of what transpired, as opposed to Henry
Gombya’s ‘’sensational article”.
Byaruhanga Johny. Rubin.
UAH Forumist
Hello Henry,
I hope this e-mail finds you in the best of your health, as I appreciate mine. I tried to find the story on the internet this morning, but there was no network to my computer. I got the network a while ago and I have read through the story. Since you asked me to tell you what I think, I shall be honest with you. I think that you wrote the story hurriedly without even referring to the documents, the audio tapes and the notes which you took from here. Not only are there many mistakes in the story, it is also not written in a chronological manner. The story only raises more questions in the mind of the reader , as I mentioned above, chronology of the events
that led to my present situation was vital to the comprehension of the
story.
Without repeating what you wrote, let me give you some corrections. I am sure you will find the paragraphs that need correction.
1- I left Uganda in March, 1981. Within 24 Hours I was in Europe.
2- By 1983 I was undefeated in the German Bundesliga, so that I turned professional. By the end of 1984, the German Boxing Magazine, Boxsport ranked me no.10 in the World. The US Ring Magazine ranked me no.2 in the Commonwealth.
3- The National Resistance Army, NRA took power in January, 1986.
4- I requested the Danish police to communicate with the German Authorities to let me return to Germany which I considered home at the time. The police requested for the telephone number of where I was residing and I gave it to them. It was an unregistered number. The
next day I received a telephone call from the Danish Boxing Promoter, Mr. Mogens Palle. The police called me several days later and wanted me at their station. I went there and I was told that the Germans could not take me. At that moment the police advised me to apply for asylum in Denmark. They instructed me how to do it and they took my statements for asylum.
5- My sons Henry and Ronny, their mother comes from Gombe, Butambala. She disappeared during the war that overthrew President Idi Amin.
When Henry and Ronny’s mother disappeared, I met the Tanzanian girl who had come to visit her uncle in Kampala. Her uncle was a childhood friend of mine and so was the Tanzanian girl. I asked her if she could help me take care of my children because it was during the time of war and as a Platoon Commander, I was extremely busy. After several Weeks, she wanted to return to Tanzania. She told me
that if I wanted her to stay helping me with the children, I had to marry her. Thence we became intimate and she conceived. She is the mother of my daughter who lives in Denmark.
6- By 1989 when I learned that the National Resistance Army/Movement (NRA/M) had taken the children to their army, Ronny was 9 years old and Henry was 11 years old. They were not ”teen age”, as you put it in the news.
7- May 6, 1996 the culprit rang the doorbell. He could not have knocked the door. My appartment was on the 2nd floor.
8- When the man attacked me, I was trying to run away from him when he stabbed me on above my left wrist.I did not fight him. However, as I turned trying to run away from him, I tripped on the pavement and fell. That is when he stabbed me again twice, once close to my waist and once again on my buttock. Someone shouted from one of the apartments
above us and that is when the culprit fled. I saw him talking to a woman who spoke from the window above. He took the key from his pocket and opened the main door. I walked to the door and read the name on the apartment doorbell of which the woman spoke.I suspected that the culprit lived in the same apartment with the woman. As I tried to walk away from their main door, I was bleeding profusely. I felt dizzy and weak, so that I could not walk any more. I collapsed and was picked from there by the Ambulance staff and rushed to the Hospital. I spent about 4 hours in the Hospital.
9- The Doctors advised me to go to the police and make a statement about what had happened. I phoned a friend, Charles Muteguya (Not Mutebi) who came with a car and drove me to the Police where I identified myself. The Police Officer checked with the computer, after which he asked me, ”Bore De i Danmark?” Do you live in Denmark?. I told him that ”We
are speaking Danish. If I was not living in Denmark, where do you think I could have learned the language?”, I asked him. He then told me that according to the computer I did not exist in the Immigration files. He told me to sit in another room and wait, as he made telephone calls. He told me later that, ”We cannot find your immigration files and therefore we have to open a new file for you”. The new file was opened and I received a new Immigration Number. After that, my interview about how and what had happened to me commenced. I was assured by the police that the culprit would be apprehended. My friend, Charles Muteguya drove me home with his car.
10- Although my neighbours told me affirmatively that the culprit had been arrested, within less than two Weeks, after 10 days precisely I received a letter from the police stating that, ”the culprit could not be found, therefore the case is closed”.
11- On the way to dowtown Copenhagen, there was a bus stop, next to the Police Station. It is the Police Station that handled my case.
12- On the 31 July, 1997 I received a letter from the Danish Immigration Authority that my wife and daughter would soon be coming to Denmark. I was so happy, so that after preparing a meal, I decided to take a walk downtown Copenhagen. On my return that afternoon, my key could not open my apartment door. The lock had been changed. Whence I remained homeless for about a year. Later I received a letter from the Post Office, written by the police to inform me that all my belongings had been auctioned. Up to this day, there is no accountability of my belongings which the Danish police claimed to have auctioned without consulting me.
13- The last paragraph you wrote, ”The story took another turn when the Lawyer who defended him, Ms Tine Vuust, said she was shocked that a Court in
Denmark could find a person guilty of such a serious crime on flimsy evidence”. There was NO evidence atall. Even the boyfriend of the Prosecution’s witness to whose case I was allegedly linked, was not allowed to come to the Court and testify.
14- When I fled Denmark, I did not request for asylum in the Netherlands. This was the idea of my Dutch Lawyers who thought it necessary. My idea was to request the Netherlands to help me inform Denmark to respect the ruling by the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
15- Pastor Mient Dijkstra did not say that he would help me aquire asylum in the Netherlands. He is sympathetic and concerned about my situation and so is his family.
Although you interviewed me for several hours in which I told you almost the whole story about my troubles in Denmark and how my daughter managed to come,you wrote nothing about that. How I was instructed by the
Danish Immigration to go to Tanzania and bring my daughter and how she got stranded in Dar es Salaam for four years, was not mentioned. How I was eventually told by the Immigration Authority that my daughter could not be allowed to come to Denmark because I was ”not married” and how my fiance’e was deported from Copenhagen Kastrup Airport, was not mentioned. How my wife and daughter eventually got permision to come to Denmark, was not mentioned. Infact, how and why I was imprisoned is not clarified. How I was denied a Lawyer of my choice, is not mentioned. You have a copy of the statement made by the Court President, in which it is stated that, ”You cannot change the Lawyer….” You have not mentioned how I smuggled a letter from prison to another Lawyer, Mr.Tyge Trier. You have not mentioned that the Lawyer, Ms Tine Vuust wrote a letter to Mr. Tyge Trier to inform him that the Police ”has taken the Case File to be destroyed”, so that Mr. Trier
could not find out why I was in prison and why I was beeing deported to Uganda.
Henry, very frankly the story leaves many questions and infact gives a suspicion that I commited the crime for which I was imprisoned. Even the previous attempt by the Danish police to arrest me under, Anti Terror Statute was not mentioned. Do you remember, the Ugandan function in which the Ugandan Ambassador and other Diplomats were in attendance, after which the police squad came and ordered us out ‘’slowly”, that there could be a bomb? I was later informed by the Danish police that I was their prime suspect in the threat calls to the Ugandan Embassy and the bomb threat to the function I mentioned above. Well, all that did not qualify for a sentence in your story.
Anyway, atleast the correction of the errors I have pointed out will be a positive step, if you donot inted to re-write the story
correctly.
I wish you all the best, as I hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience.
Yours brotherly,
Byaruhanga, Jonny Rubin.
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Sagala Nokulimba said,
October 23, 2009 at 11:32 am
Give us a break Byaruhanga. There is a saying that you can fool some people sometimes but you can never fool everybody all times! I wonder why you even thought of putting this stuff of yours to the public view. You would be better served leaving the whole sordid affair unpublished.
The truth is (and you should correct it if you think I am wrong) you were on verge of being thrown out of Denmark when you bolted to Holland. Tell everyone on the forum you were arrested red handed with Cocaine. The police had for sometime been spying on you because you were a dealer not some kind of victim of persecution as you purport. You assume that everyone on the forum is a dummy who will believe that The Danish police colluded with the Justice Dept to put poor Byaruhanga in prison for over 3 years on trumped up charges? Who are you? Most Africans in Copenhagen could attest that you used to deal the stuff and had this connection with some Tanzanians and Rwandese – most of whom also ended up in jail.
The whole issue of the Danish government disobeying the UN statement exonerating you is another red herring. Why don’t you go back t Uganda anyway? I do not think Museveni is interested in you.
ugandansatheart said,
October 23, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Shame On Mr. Gombya
By Anthony Rwaga
Oct 23rd 2009
Mr Gombya is blatantly and flat wrong on the steps he took to write Mr. Byaruhanga’s story and to expose the Dutch family in an issue of not their concern. In the first place before publishing such an article , he should have taken sometime and consult the Dutch family on whether it was alright to publish their names and photographs and also Mr. Byaruhanga on whether the story about him was correct and right for publication to the media. As a well respected journalist before publishing such an article or any article that is sensitive to the media he must have consulted the host to proof read it and correct areas that required some correction Mr Gombya might not be an officially recruited agent of the Yoweri Musevenis Puppets who are practicing self-censorship to protect their identity but his actions in publishing this article without final proof from Mr Byaruhanga make him look like one. he has sold out so much to the media yet he continues masquerading as a sympathiser of Mr Byaruhanga .double dealing, the real attributes of intelligence personell.
Whats the mystery here? Am sure Mr. Gombya had to use false identity to make the story look Good. I have known Mr Byaruhanga for a period of time as a member of the UAH forum and he has never been a terrorist as portrayed by Mr. Gombya . This article lucks a lot of credibility and was never written in chronological order as to what I know of Mr. Byaruhanga.
Fellow Ugandans I argues that these proceedings against Mr. Byaruhanga might reveal details that will compromise national security. But I am very critical of baseless statements said because the judgment will not be delivered “in camera” but in full view of the public.
In addition to breaching the dutch family pictures without their consent violated their rights as enshrined . This family has been very much angered by Mr Gombyas action and are to take a legal action on mr. gombyas action for violating their rights and may consider taking legal action.
My observation aboutMr. Gombya is he violated the privacy of the Dutch family by exposing them in the news that did not concern them and without their permission. Also he published this story without consulting Mr. Byaruhanga for proof reading and permission to publish. Apparently the story was distorted and concluded as a blackmail of Mr. Byaruhanga. I therefore urge to all readers in the UAH forum the e-mail to Dr. Henry Gombyas article, so that you may judge Dr Gombyas journalistic credibility for your selves and perhaps inform the forum what you all think. This e-mail also puts right the statements which may have been deliberately or otherwise wrongly presented to stain Mr Byaruhanga so that he remains isolated for years to come.
Circumstances of case
Hello Forum readers I would like to bring to your attention a situation involving Mr Gombyas action in which he is trying to paint or blackmail Mr. Byaruhanga as an undercover whistle blower for the government of Uganda. Here you will find out what Mr Gombya did and how he acted as if he was innocent but I have just included a small portion on what his actions are. Please read on…………………
On March 6, 1987, at about 11:00pm Dr. Kayiira and his friend Mr. Henry Gombya, a BBC stringer, were having a meal with Gombya’s wife, Vicky Navva, age 24 years, and three other girls, Josephine Babirye, age 19, Julian Nabwire, age 14 years and Annet Namatovu, age 23 years, when a number of men believed to be about 10 to 14, entered the garden compound and attacked the persons present.
At the time of the attack it was dark and the house was without electricity due to power cuts and the only lighting was that provided by a storm lamp which was apparently hanging from the side wall nearest where the occupants were eating.
Some of the attackers had torches and according to the witnesses at least three of the attackers had fire-arms, one an AK47 submachine gun.
Exactly what transpired will be examined in greater detail further in the report but suffice it to say the occupants of the house ran into the premises, including Dr. Kayiira and Mr. Gombya and hid themselves in their respective rooms.
Subsequent events show that Dr. Kayiira was shot four times (two in the right arm and twice in the left side of the body), injuries from which he died and Mr. Gombya made his escape via the front security gate and hid in a banana plantation after first separating the sum of 40 million shillings into two halves and throwing one half in a box into the matoke plantation which adjoins the house. The remaining half was left for the attackers and is part of the property stolen from the house. None of the other occupants of the house, i.e. the three girls, were apparently injured although Vicky Naava states that she was kicked and punched.
Background information
Before looking at the evidence surrounding the murder, it is of use if the reader was made aware of the backgrounds and events involving the main principals, i.e. Dr. Kayiira and Mr. Gombya involvement in the killing of Mr. Kayiira.
Events leading up to the murder
Mr. Henry Gombya is a BBC stringer and although his work involves reporting matters of interest to news agencies on freelance basis, he is undoubtedly very well connected with many government officials as their spy under the cover of Journalism, and that is what he was trying to do again to Mr Byaruhanga. Mr Gombya is also strongly suspected of being involved in black market business transactions involving foreign exchange. In Uganda the exchange of currency on the black market appears to be the rule rather than the exception to Mr Gombya. He was offered a presidential treatment at Mr. Mient Dijkstra home while posing as a journalist and also tainted their names without their consent which has angered them to the point that they are arranging to file for legal action against Mr Gombyas actions. And the Str8talk cronicles.
Fellow Ugandans and readers of the forum I urge to you that we do not want to see another Kayiira or Dr. Basigye’s incident repeating itself in this situation to Mr. Byaruhanga. Mr. Byaruhanga has demonstrated time and time again that he does care and have value for human life, that is being destroyed by poor leaders and people posing under certain title as Mr. Gombya is and they can kill with impunity. The Baganda have a saying that when they tell you that a two headed snake does not have poison-why would you want to put your finger in the snake’s mouth to find out ?
The purpose of this mail is to advise you and other members of this forum to refrain from trying to force people to admit being who they are not. The recent riots in and around Kampala may be a ”rehearsal” of what is yet to occur in Uganda. Let us remember what Uganda has gone through and try to refrain from acts that would cause disunity or violence. Let us appreciate the contribution of information or amicable debates from all the members, baring in mind that we learn from each other. As a professional Journalist, Mr. Gombya should have known that he was not supposed to publish any story without the hosts approval unless one is posing under cover. Mr Gombya should not have published the photos of the family that that offered him a presidential treatment at their residence. These are well respectable member of the Dutch community. I duly second them on any action they will take. After all, we all need the best for Uganda. The situation in Ugandatoday may seem tribalistic, but I continue to see Ugandans abroad
attracted to each other in the spirit of brotherhood, irrespective of tribal difference.
We debate here at the forum, as we continue to educate each other about many issues of treamendous importance, for the good of our beloved country. Imagine that we find ourselves in Uganda and the times have changed, so that there is no reason for fear, but unity for the prosperity of our country. Then you meet several people and you notice that they are some of those with whom you used to debate at the forum. How would you feel? Would you not feel so delighted to meet, rather than hiding yourself for the insults and dangerous allegations you used to thrust to some of these compatriots?
I hope you will receive my humble advice knowing that there is no disrespect intended to publish ones names under cover or posing as a sympathiser. God bless you all, For God and my country .
Anthony Rwaga
UAH forumist