A report by international human rights NGO, Human Rights Watch, has described the prison conditions in Uganda as bordering on inhuman, degrading treatment and even torture.
The report, titled: ‘Even dead bodies must work; Health, hard labour and abuse in Ugandan prisons’, paints vivid and disturbing pictures of the horrendous conditions under which prisoners live. The report also reveals that the majority of these prisoners, up to 56%, have not been convicted of any crime. They do not have access to legal presentation, and there is not much hope that they will be tried and convicted or released from prison soon.
Prison authorities regularly beat the prisoners and force them to perform hard and compulsory labour. The proceeds of their labour, the report says, do not benefit the prisoners, but rather go straight into the pockets of the authorities. Musa, an inmate in Muduuma prison, says when they are too sick to work, the wardens kick them and insist; “Even dead bodies must work”.
And the prisoners are often sick because they live in very unhealthy conditions. Another report titled: ‘Presumed innocent, behind bars: The problem of lengthy pretrial detention in Uganda’, by human rights NGO, Avocats Sans Frontieres (Advocates without Borders), has similar findings.
It highlights the fact that prisoners in Uganda are held in places that do not meet the international human rights standards – the cells are overcrowded, buildings dilapidated, and basic hygiene and welfare standards ignored. The prisoners are kept in these conditions without trial for an indefinite period and in breach of international human rights instruments Uganda is party to.
Human Rights Watch says keeping prisoners in such inhuman and unhealthy conditions is dangerous not only to their individual health but also that of the entire community. For example, many prisoners with HIV/AIDS and TB do not have access to treatment. These, the report explains, are likely to develop drug resistant strains of the diseases, which they will pass on when and if they are released.
Other prisoners, still, are maimed for life. One Ali, a prisoner at Murchison Bay Prison, tells of an inmate who was beaten until his buttocks got rotten. When other prisoners found his smell unbearable, they demanded that he get treatment. The man, who spent every day lying on the floor, in pain, finally got treatment. However, to date, he cannot sit.
The NGOs appeal to the government to end this kind of treatment and to hold wardens accountable for any prisoners’ mistreatment. They also say the prisoners should be afforded legal representation and their trials made speedier.
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14323&Itemid=59
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