The inspector general of police (IGP) Martin Okoth Ochola has condemned the torturing of arrested suspects by security officers, saying it’s against the professional ethics of the force. The police boss said no police officer will be tolerated if they are found guilty of having tortured suspects.

“I have been trained in CID [criminal investigations] for over 10 years, I have worked in police for 30 years [and] I have never tortured anyone. So why should a police officer torture someone? And mark you; the confession obtained through torturing is inadmissible in court,” Ochola said. 

Although Ochola refused to directly comment on allegations of torture of recently arrested suspects in Arua, his comments come after images emerged on social media of Mityana municipality MP Francis Zaake appearing to have been tortured while in detention following his arrest on Monday this week.

IGP Okoth Ochola

Zaake alongside other MPs and over 30 civilians were arrested by security officers on allegations of stoning the presidential motorcade in Arua on Monday. Zaake is currently admitted in Lubaga hospital on life support. His is all bruised and swollen bearing hallmarks of torture.

Zaake is feeding through tubes and supported by a nebulizer to breathe. Although no images of Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine have been released since his arrest in Arua as well, his lawyers, wife and the officers of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, who met him at Makindye military barracks on Friday, said that he was severely tortured and is in great pain.

“His forehead is bruised and his eyes are red. He has many wounds including one on his ear. He seems to have been punched many times on the face. He cannot walk. He cannot sit straight. He speaks with difficulty and has a lot of pain breathing,” his wife Barbie Kyagulanyi narrated after the visit.

Ochola also advised those who have been tortured by police officers not to report the matter at the Professional Standards Unit (PSU) but rather to the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) headquarters in Kibuli since its a criminal offence.

It’s still unclear which security agency tortured the Arua suspects as they were arrested by presidential guards, Special Forces Command (SFC) and dumped at police stations. 

According to the Anti-Torture Act, every individual who tortures someone takes individual liability and can be imprisoned for up to seven years on conviction.