Ugandan authorities have released Somalia's state minister of defense, Yusuf Mohamed Siad, after he was mistakenly detained overnight in the capital Kampala.

Siad's entry to Uganda by road from neighboring Kenya raised suspicions of security officials in the East African country, which is currently hosting a regional security meeting and is about to celebrate its independence day. Siad was supposed to enter Uganda by plane.

"He was released this morning (Wednesday). He was held comfortably through the night," said army spokesman Felix Kulayigye. "Once we realized who he was, he was not treated as a prisoner."

"We followed him up. After the arrest was made he was identified as a minister," he explained. "Certainly he should have come by air. He should have notified us and traveled as a visiting foreign official."

Asked whether Siad would be staying in Uganda or return home, Kulayigye said, "I don't know what his plans are, but he is now a free man."

Siad recently ditched a militant group to join the embattled UN-backed Somali transition government and is now the state minister for defense, a position that saw him going at loggerheads with his former allies.

Uganda has about 2,000 troops that make up the 5,100-strong African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is in charge of shoring up the fragile government in Mogadishu from powerful militants.