Ssebalamu gave Abitex full authority and access to Freedom City Mall – Police
Abitex, and other people who are yet to be sanctioned by police, will be charged with 11 counts of causing death contrary to section 227 of the penal code act.
Police have revealed that Abbey Musinguzi commonly known as Abitex was given full authority to manage Freedom City Mall where a stampede that left 11 people dead occurred.
This follows a statement that was recorded by John Ssebalamu the proprietor of Freedom City Mall. Ssebalamu presented to police an agreement that was signed by Abitex in which he had to provide, as a must, adequate security for the event and venue.
According to clause 5 of the agreement, police said Abitex was tasked to provide first aid, fire and emergency arrangements, depending on the tight nature and scale of the event.
Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson, added that all the padlocks to the gates and doors to the mall were removed, and the venue was left in the hands of Abitex.
“Critically the proprietors of the venue gave full authority to the organizers. It’s also important to note that Abitex didn’t apply for fireworks display, instead the management contracted Extreme Events to display fireworks on behalf of the whole Freedom City Mall,” he noted.
Enanga said findings indicate that Abitex was warned about the potential crowd control and safety concerns by the Police and the preventive guidelines were spelt out to him during the concert preparations.
It’s on this notice that police indicated that the organizers put profits over the safety of the concert-goers, issued a dangerous directive to the bouncers of locking all the other 4 exits something which led to the death of 11 people.
In their findings, Enanga clarified that there was negligence on the part of overcrowding, beyond the 15,000 full capacity, lack of standby medical equipment and the bouncers were not well trained since they admitted children who were not in the company of their parents.
Abitex, and other people who are yet to be sanctioned by police, will be charged with 11 counts of causing death contrary to section 227 of the penal code act.
An additional 8 counts of causing rash and negligent acts that caused injuries contrary to section 229 of the penal code act will be considered.
