KAMPALA — Patricia Apolot, the prominent Ugandan kickboxer and wife of retired Lieutenant General Peter Elwelu, has dismissed allegations that her husband is involved in organising an armed rebellion, insisting he travelled to Kampala two weeks ago for prayer and has not returned home.
Speaking after a security operation at their residence in Awoja, Soroti District, Apolot told the New Vision on Thursday that her husband’s prolonged periods of prayer were common and should not be interpreted as suspicious behaviour.
“I told them that my husband left for Kampala two weeks ago, saying he was going to enter into a moment of prayer. This is not new in our home because he sometimes spends a week or even two weeks in prayer,” she said.
Elwelu, a former Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, is reportedly wanted over allegations of organising an armed rebellion. However, Apolot expressed confidence that her husband would not engage in activities aimed at overthrowing the government.
“No, not the man I know, not the man I have lived with,” she said when asked whether she believed he could be involved in a rebellion.
“My husband is innocent and cannot, even for a minute, think of starting a rebellion. He loves Uganda, and his dream is to have a peaceful country,” she added.
Apolot, who married Elwelu in 2017, said security personnel raided their home at about 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, questioning her about his whereabouts.
She said the officers, some dressed in military uniform and others in civilian clothes, confiscated two mobile phones belonging to her and took phones belonging to her sisters.
Although she said nobody was physically assaulted, Apolot claimed that she and others at the residence were confined indoors for several days as security personnel searched the property.
The search reportedly lasted about three hours, but officers remained at the home and restricted her movements until she was eventually allowed to leave and purchase food.
Apolot also denied reports that security personnel recovered firearms and ammunition from the residence.
She explained that soldiers who usually guarded the home had been sent on leave before Elwelu travelled to Kampala, adding that their other residence in Anyara, Kalaki District, regularly hosted worshippers.
