LET UGANDANS UNITE AGAINST TORTURE BY SECURITY FORCES

LET UGANDANS UNITE AGAINST TORTURE BY SECURITY FORCES

BY MOSES SSERWANGA

The rising number of cases of suspects being tortured by police officers and other security operatives while in detention centers have convulsed the country and whipped up unprecedented public outcry .  Television and radio interviews of torture victims have been recorded  while  video clips of victims narrating their ordeal have gone viral on the social media.

And yet this new worrying trend is against the NRA/NRM long held doctrine against torture and political assassinations dating back to the bush war days spanning from the early 1980s. When President Yoweri Museveni  launched the NRA/NRM revolution and the bush war some 36 years ago , he maintained a zero tolerance for torture as a means of extracting  intelligence information or illegal confessions from suspects .

It is therefore, surprising and utterly disreputable that in the recent past ,some police officers have taken it upon themselves to torture suspects  while in police custody and other un-gazetted detention centers .  A special committee of the police force  led by the Director of Legal and Human Rights  Erasmus Twaruhukwa and whose other members included Dr. John Kamya, James Kushemererwa and Emilian Kayima recently recommended the closure of Nalufenya after it found that the detention facility did not meet minimum standards required of a holding place for suspects .

And whereas, the new police administration led by the Inspector General of Police , Martin Okoth Ochora should be commended for their brave action to close the Nalufenya detention facility following  wide public protests -that it was one of the most recognized torture chambers in the country ,special investigations should be instituted to bring to book all the police officers who  have been  involved in  gross violation of human rights including the torture of suspects .

The Uganda constitution 1995,in Article 24 under the bill of rights provides for  human dignity and protection from inhuman treatment .It states thus :” no one shall be subjected to torture ,cruel ,inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment. “

The Prohibition and Prevention of Torture Act read together with other international legal instruments interalia, the United Convention Against Torture also- outlaws torture in any form including but not limited to physical and psychological torture, holding suspects incommunicado and denying them adequate medical care .

The courts of Uganda have gone ahead to uphold these principles that govern the fundamental human rights of suspects and one of the recent cases being  the 19 suspects in the Kaweesi murder case . The High Court held that there was gross violation of the suspects human rights when they were subjected to various forms of torture while in detention at Nalufenya .

The court observed  and rightly so that  the rule of law is not a self-effecting doctrine where it’s enforcement is a function of the will of people but rather has institutions charged with enforcing it, especially the police and the  judiciary.

The practice of torture, therefore, is in stark contrast to the doctrine of the rule of law. All suspects in the custody of the state should be accorded their fundamental human rights as enshrined in our constitution . Under our criminal  justice system suspects are presumed innocent until proved guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. The Uganda police and other security  agencies should not be allowed a  free hand to torture suspects because anyone can fall victim any day .

And in its continued effort to clean up a badly tarnished police image , the new police administration  should carry out regular independent inspections of all detention facilities across the country to stamp out human rights violations. It  is in the best interest of  society that police cells and other detention facilities meet the intentionally acceptable standards to ensure the observance of human rights and promotion of the rule of law.

We  need a robust human rights protection mechanisms involving both the rights holders and duty bearers. All is not lost on us.

The writer is an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda

And Media, Communications Consultant/trainer.

msserwanga@gmail.com