KAMPALA — Ugandan authorities on Wednesday released Somalia’s junior defence minister Youssuf Mohamed Siad after he was arrested by mistake overnight in the capital Kampala, the army spokesman said.

Siad had entered Uganda by road from neighbouring Kenya, raising suspicions of security officials in the East African country, currently hosting a regional security meeting and about to celebrate its independence day.

“He was released this morning (Wednesday). He was held comfortably through the night,” Felix Kulayigye told AFP. “Once we realised who he was, he was not treated as a prisoner.”

Authorites launched investigations upon receiving information on Siad’s entry into the country, Kulayigye said.

“We followed him up. After the arrest was made he was identified as a minister,” he explained. “Certainly he should have come by air. He should have notified us and travelled as a visiting foreign official.”

A powerful Mogadishu warlord and former member of Islamic Courts Union which ruled the country in 2006, Siad is now a key member of Somalia’s internationally-backed transition government that is battling Islamic insurgents.

Asked whether he would be staying in the country or returning home, Kulaigye said: “I don’t know what his plans are, but he is now a free man.”

Somali government spokesman Abdi Haji Gobdon described the arrest as a humiliation.

“We are really disappointed about this incident. It is a humiliation, but I hope further details will be available soon from the Ugandan government.”

Uganda has troops in Somalia as part of the African Union peacekeepers protecting the embattled government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

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Uganda Says Somali Minister Detained, Not Kidnapped

KAMPALA (Reuters) – Uganda’s military spokesman said Ugandan security forces detained Somalia’s state minister for defence on Tuesday in the capital Kampala, and that he had not been kidnapped by gunmen as relatives had reported.

“It is true. He is in our hands. He came here for unclear reasons and we picked an interest in him. You can’t come here as a high profile person without notice,” Lieutenant Colonel Felix Kulayigye told Reuters. He declined to give more details.

(Editing by Charles Dick)

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