KANU

But for Mr Kutesa, whose love of Arsenal dates back to the days of players like Nwankwo Kanu and Thierry Henry, the next few weeks are all-important.

A few months ago, I met Kanu, the 57-year-old rebel leader the police accuse of masterminding the jailbreak, in Patna, Bihar’s chaotic capital.

Fifteen months later, in February 2007, Kanu was arrested from a railway platform while he was travelling from Dhanbad in Bihar to the city of Kolkata.

Almost two decades later, Kanu has been acquitted in all but six of the original 45 criminal cases against him.

Despite his fearsome reputation, Kanu is unexpectedly talkative.