KAMPALA - The detention of Somalia's junior defence minister Youssuf Mohamed Siad during a visit to Uganda was a misunderstanding.
"We actually had information that there was a Somali dissident on his way and of course with the East African security conference and Independence Day both this week there many dignitaries in town and we had to be on alert," army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Felix Kulayigye said.
"We got information that this Somali gentleman had entered Uganda and we started investigating. We followed him up. After the arrest was made he was identified as a minister," he added.
"Certainly he should have come by air. He should have notified us and travelled as a visiting foreign official," he said.
The chief of Uganda's military intelligence service, James Mugira, said late Tuesday that Siad was "picked (up) as a security measure by Uganda state security."
Ugandan authorities on Wednesday released Siad.
"He was released this morning (Wednesday). He was held comfortably through the night," Felix Kulayigye said. "Once we realised who he was, he was not treated as a prisoner."
A former member of Islamic Courts Union which ruled most of Somalia with relative peace and stability in 2006, Siad is now a key member of Somalia's internationally-backed transition government that is battling 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."
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