The laws of Uganda protect every person from any form of torture. Article 24 of the Constitution calls for respect for human dignity and protection from inhuman treatment by stipulating that “no person shall be subjected to any form of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Article 44 (a) further provides for freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In 1986, Uganda ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In fact, Uganda is a member of several regional and international treaties that outlaw torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
However, in spite of the legal framework’s prohibition of torture, the vice is rampant in the country and is often perpetuated by the state agents on citizens. My argument is that there can never be any form of justification for torture, regardless of the situation.
In fact, historical evidence suggests that the use of torture does not yield positive results and, on the other hand, it leads to anarchy. In Uganda, records of torture date back to the colonial days when anti-colonialists were accorded inhumane treatment but the real form of torture came to light in the post-colonial era of the seventies.
During Idi Amin’s presidency, he did not entertain dissenting political views and had many of his political adversaries tortured. The state at that time even had a torture chamber located in Lubiri, Mengo, where it is said thousands of Ugandans lost their lives. Whereas there continued to be forms of torture by the regimes that followed, the vice was sporadic, with mostly political detainees facing the wrath.
NEW WAVE
Of recent, however, acts of torture have become rampant to the extent that leading political commentators like Charles Onyango-Obbo to claim Uganda has returned to the dark days. Most of the documented victims of torture in recent years have been Muslim clerics whereas the perpetrators are mostly state security actors such as Internal Security Organisation (ISO), Special Forces Command (SFC) and Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI). To a lesser extent, the police and UPDF have also been implicated in torturing suspects.
The main forms of torture, according to accounts of various survivors, is beatings, denying of sleep, electrocution and use of gadgets like pliers to mutilate the bodies of victims. Other known forms include kandoya (tying hands and the feet behind the victim); suspension from the ceiling while tied up; putting the nozzle of the pistol into the victim’s mouth, and gang rape of female victims. Records show this is mostly done at torture facilities that include Special Investigation Unit in Kireka as well as security bases in Mbuya, Entebbe and Kyengera, among others.
The once dreaded torture base at Nalufenya was closed in 2018 after several cries from former detainees. In 2017, the grisly images of tortured suspects in the murder of former police officer Andrew Felix Kaweesi prompted President Museveni to come out and condemn torture.
In fact, many of the incidents of torture in recent years have been denounced by the state officially even though little is being done to stop it. Early this year, the torture of author Kakwenza Rukirabashaija and Samuel Masereka, the coordinator of the National Unity Platform (NUP) in Kasese district, ignited international condemnation
And just last week, another NUP supporter, Alexandros Marinos, came out to show the world what happens in torture chambers and should bring the issue of torture to the forefront of national debate. She says other friends like Ahmad Kibirige have fled the country after similar experiences and this should stop. In the aftermath, several leading figures in the country have come out to condemn the torture, especially on social media, but there seems to be no interest by the state to follow up the matter or prosecute the culprits.
Last year, NUP put out a list of more than 200 supporters, including outspoken government critics like John Bosco Serunkuma, Dennis Ssali and Junior Kiberu, whose whereabouts
remain unknown since their arrest by security operatives.
COURT
Legal remedies to torture have been tried with minimal success. At best, all the victim can get is compensation from the state but the culprits of torture walk scot-free. All this makes the fight against torture difficult. In 2016, Muslim clerics sued Gen Kale Kayihura of torture but the trial aborted when the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) took over the case and later lost interest.
According to accounts of former torture victims, what makes torture permanently damaging is that it inflicts a lot of physical and psychological harm to the extent that the victim is forced into betraying himself. This was held in a 2012 landmark ruling by Justice Wilson Kwesiga. He acquitted UPDF soldiers Amon Turyamureeba and Issa Lwanga of murder after it was proved that they were forced to confess in detention while being tortured.
Last year, High court ordered government to compensate Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake with Shs 75 million for the torture inflicted on him while in state detention. In conclusion, it is evident that the state has little interest in stemming torture or bringing the culprits to book but the recent evidence of torture is stirring up public debate and international condemnation.
With more intensity, especially on social media, the perpetrators may be forced to think twice before applying torture.
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