Team probing Garang’s air crash to quiz Museveni
Aug 22, 2005 (Kampala) — The international panel investigating
the helicopter crash in which former Sudanese 1st Vice President
Dr. John Garang died is with over a dozen others demanding to
question President Yoweri Museveni and some senior officials of
the Ugandan government.
The panel, comprising experts in aeronautics, avionics, air
traffic control, explosives and ballistics, meteorology and
surveying, from Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, United States, Russia and
the United Nations, began the probe last Thursday Ugandan leader
a meeting in Kampala.
The seven-member Sudanese team, which arrived a day earlier, is
led by Abel Alier, one-time vice president of Sudan and now a
prominent southern Sudanese lawyer.
In statement issued to the media, Alier said that the
“international probe team is interested in getting the
President’s views given that he was the last VIP to successfully
use the Ugandan Mi-172 presidential helicopter”.
The helicopter with Garang on board departed from Museveni’s
country home of Rwakitura on 30 July en route to Entebbe airport
for refuelling. But its wreckage was found in the Zuria mountain
ranges just inside southern Sudan.
On the eve of Garang’s burial in southern Sudan town of Yei,
Museveni told mourners that the death of his long-time friend
could have been the result of sabotage or terrorism without
making specific accusations.
Alier’s statement explained that investigators had split into
working groups with some assigned to visit the site of the
incident, and some to accompany the flight data recorder and
cockpit voice recorder, retrieved from the helicopter debris, to
Russia.
He added that some of the members would remain behind in Uganda
to conduct some inquiries.
Analysts suggested this group may gather information from
Museveni and officials from the Presidential Guard Brigade,
individuals in charge of the chopper’s security, and the Civil
Aviation Authority which serves as national air transport
regulators.
Other experts are to probe the oil firms that usually fuel the
Uganda government aircraft and Total Uganda is already earmarked
for quizzing
PANA/ST