The High court has awarded Shs 30 million to Samuel Busindi Masereka, the Kasese National Unity Platform (NUP) party registrar, after ruling that his constitutional rights were violated while in state custody.
In a decision delivered on Friday, justice Musa Ssekaana ordered the government, which was jointly sued with former Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) director Maj Gen Abel Kandiho, to pay the compensation.
“Upon reviewing the submissions and evidence presented, this court finds that the applicant has established a credible claim for the infringement of his constitutional rights,” Ssekaana ruled. “The applicant was subjected to inhumane treatment, compromising his rights to dignity, freedom from torture, and personal liberty, as safeguarded by the Constitution.”
The judge emphasized that the compensation was meant to address the injuries Masereka sustained and to reaffirm the court’s commitment to upholding constitutional protections and human dignity.
“Despite the respondents’ argument that the applicant failed to provide sufficient evidence, this court finds otherwise. Given the gravity of the constitutional violations, the applicant is entitled to effective redress. In line with Article 50(1) of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, the applicant is awarded Shs 30,000,000 as general damages,” he added.
However, Ssekaana ruled that there was no evidence linking Maj Gen Kandiho to Masereka’s torture or prolonged detention. He noted that Kandiho was merely added as a scarecrow without any basis or allegation of direct involvement and, therefore, did not violate Masereka’s rights.
Masereka was arrested on January 7, 2022, while playing pool at a local pub in Kasese town by three operatives wearing UPDF uniforms attached to CMI. His phone was confiscated, and he was barred from informing his family about his arrest.
He recounted that a pistol was pointed in his mouth before he was dragged into a drone car and taken to Kasese Central Police Station, then Kilembe police post, where he spent the night. His requests to contact his relatives were denied.
The following day, operatives dressed in army uniform, along with a police officer identified as Bwambale, took Masereka to his home for a three-hour search. His laptop, national ID, flash disk, SIM card, and NUP mobilization documents were seized as exhibits.
Masereka was then hooded, handcuffed, and transported to Kampala. Upon arrival at a facility he later identified as CMI headquarters in Mbuya, he was undressed and taken naked to the reception for processing. He alleged that on January 9, after spending three days handcuffed and hooded, he was interrogated by four officers who battered him with cables, flogged, and waterboarded him after they were unsatisfied with his responses regarding NUP’s funding and future plans.
He said this torture was repeated every day until his release on January 26, 2022, from the Special Investigations Department of Police in Kireka, where CMI officers transferred him before he was granted police bond on allegations of involvement in subversive activities.
He further claimed that one interrogator poured boiling water on his legs and feet, causing grievous bodily injuries that still require medical attention.
“I was beaten to a point of becoming lifeless, numb and with serious convulsions and only woke up finding myself sleeping in a solitary confinement.. oozing blood from my mouth, nose, genitals, back – all over my hands and body,” his affidavit reads.
Masereka’s lawyers from PACE Advocates, led by George Musisi, revealed that after his release, he was dumped in Mityana and left to find his way back home. His family, unaware of his whereabouts, had reported him as a missing person.
He was later admitted to St. Francis Nsambya Hospital, where he incurred significant medical expenses. To date, he continues to receive treatment for his injuries.
Masereka has also proceeded under the Human Rights (Enforcement) Act of 2019 to sue Maj. Gen. Kandiho personally for the torture inflicted by officers under his command. The law, signed by President Yoweri Museveni, prohibits the torture of suspects and holds individuals personally liable for human rights violations in state custody.
This case follows a similar ruling in 2021, when Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake was awarded over Shs 70 million by Justice Esta Nambayo for torture suffered while in detention.
