A British military veteran has told court that an operation in which firearms and suspected fake money were recovered from Nairobi appeared to have been stage-managed as an intelligence operation.
Andrew Wilson aka Orlando, a state witness treason case against former Presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye, Hajji Obeid Lutale, and Captain Denis Oola made the revelation while testifying about events which happened at Riverside Apartments in Nairobi, Kenya.
Wilson, a British citizen who said he served in the British military for five years, told court that he had never met or heard of Lutale before travelling to Nairobi.
“I never met Lutale before Nairobi, my Lord, or heard his name,” Wilson said.
He said the apartment where the meeting was to take place had been arranged in advance and that he found two loaded pistols inside when he entered.
“The apartment was pre-arranged for you?” he was asked.“Yes, my Lord,” Wilson replied.
Asked whether he reported the presence of the firearms to hotel security or the Kenyan authorities, Wilson said he did not.
Wilson, however, told court that the Kenyan police had taken them to the apartment and placed the guns inside.
“The Kenyan police took us to the room, put the guns in the room, my Lord,” he said.
Asked why Kenyan police would put guns inside the apartment, Wilson said he did not know.
“I don’t know, my Lord, because I’m not a member of the Kenyan police,” he said.
The witness was then asked whether the circumstances suggested that the guns had been planted on Lutale.
“It looks like it, my Lord,” Wilson replied.
The court heard that the Riverside Apartments were subsequently found to contain a pistol identified as a Pistol HB, a firearm the court heard was ordinarily under the monopoly of the defence forces.
Wilson also confirmed that he slept in the apartment following police raid.
Given his background in intelligence, firearms and crime, he was asked whether staying at what was allegedly a crime scene amounted to tampering with the scene.
“Yes, my Lord,” he replied.
The questioning then turned to the circumstances surrounding the operation, including the placement of equipment, firearms and suspected fake money inside the apartment.
Wilson was asked about a sequence in which equipment was brought into the apartment, guns were found on a table, suspected fake money was recovered and people inside the apartment were arrested, while he and an associate escaped before later returning to the scene.
Asked whether those circumstances pointed to a stage-managed operation, Wilson responded: “Obviously, my Lord, it was an intelligence operation.”
The witness was also questioned about his personal background. Wilson told court that he left school at the age of 15 and had no formal educational qualifications.
“I left school at 15 years, my Lord,” he said.
He confirmed, however, that he had served in the British military for five years.
Asked about the minimum qualifications required to become a British military officer, Wilson clarified that he was not an officer in the British Army.
“I was not an officer in the British Army,” he said.
Wilson told court that people joining the British Army undergo an aptitude test and confirmed that he passed the test.
His alleged intelligence background also came under scrutiny when he was questioned about a company known as Risks Incorporated.
Wilson confirmed that the company is registered in Seychelles and deals with counter-espionage.
“We deal with counter-espionage, my Lord,” he said.
The testimony came as the court examined the circumstances surrounding the Nairobi operation, including the discovery of firearms and suspected fake money and the subsequent arrest of several people.
Wilson maintained that he had no prior knowledge of A2 before the Nairobi meeting and denied any personal connection to him.
The court continues to hear evidence in the matter.
