A police officer who petitioned Parliament over what she called wrongful dismissal from the force has been asked for details concerning the matter.On Monday, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security, asked Consolee Uwera, the complainant, to present her case. Uwera, a former judicial police officer (OPJ), recently formally requested the Speaker of Parliament’s intervention. Last year, she was dismissed over alleged bribery.Her case is among many other complaints the House receives from the general public. In addition to what Uwera noted was a false allegation of corruption, she told the MPs that her troubles were started by her former commanding officer.Uwera said that apart from prompting the allegedly baseless bribery charge against her, her commanding officer also often publicly tarnished her image by calling her a prostitute. She said that before her dismissal, she had served seven years in the national police. “My first request is to be allowed go back to work. Another is to see the blemish of being called a prostitute removed,” Uwera told the MPs, when asked to state her wishes.MP Gideon Kayinamura, the committee Chairperson, said: “We, as a committee, of Parliament cannot remove that slander; that is the work of a court of law”.“We can only pursue that case regarding how you were suspended from work. And for now, on your wish to go back to your job, we do not have enough documentation apart from what you gave us. We cannot base anything on only the words you have told us here.”Uwera handed the committee a set of documents which she said could help with the investigation. Meanwhile, MP Emmanuel Gatera noted that Uwera’s case is similar to another in which a former police officer, Brigitte Ingabire, told the committee that she was sexually harassed by her bosses. “My view is that we take some time, as we did with the previous case of Brigitte, and talk to the minister as well as the Inspector General of Police because I think they have more information on these complaints. Let us talk to them and we will be able to make a decision,” Gatera said.
