Security agencies are still bad boys.

The usual suspects: The country’s security agencies have been accused by the 2009 human rights report of torture, among other atrocities, with only two days to The African Human Rights Day. The Uganda Human Rights Commission report, released last Friday, says in spite of the existence of various accountability mechanisms for security agencies, they have continued to use unlawful force, illegal arrests and detentions, torture, killings, cruel and inhuman degrading treatment. The public funded commission noted that on several occasions, the security agencies unlawfully used force, which included shooting with live ammunition to disperse demonstrators. “This was especially the case during the riots in September (2009), which led to the death and injuries of several people. During these riots, the Police and Army used teargas and live bullets to disperse protesters. This resulted in 26 deaths and numerous injuries, some of which could have been caused by live bullets,” the report notes. Another example cited is a Special Police Constable who shot and killed two students at a school in Nakaseke. The students were demonstrating over the quality of meals they were served. The security agencies, particularly the Rapid Response Unit of the Police, the UPDF’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, and the Joint Anti-Terrorism Squad were accused of violating the right to liberty. This right, according to the Constitution, states that a person that has been arrested or detained shall be brought to court as soon as possible but in any case not later than 48 hours from the time of his or her arrest. Security bosses such as Maj Gen Kale Kayihura, the Police boss, have argued severally that the 48 hours are not enough to carry out adequate investigations. However, during his critique of the report on Friday, Justice Vincent Kibuuka Musoke noted, “the law says that arrests must be made on reasonable suspicion.” But often, the Ugandan Police arrest first and then investigate later. “This explains the high number of suspects on remand,” Kibuuka Musoke said. He gave various examples of people whose rights to liberty have been violated. One case involved a woman who was held for several months without being charged simply because she was a wife to a suspected murderer. Another was of three men in Masaka who happened to have been inside a bar when another man kicked a waitress to death. The three men spent four years in jail without any charges ever being brought against them. “The Police need to do a lot in this area. Courts now are rejecting charge and caution statements made under detention,” he said. Gov't response The minister of Information, Kabakumba Matsiko, said government will come up with a position this week after the report has been internalised. The same view was shared by Army Spokesman, Lt Col Felix Kulayigye, while Maj Gen Kayihura didn’t answer our repeated calls. On torture, the report says several complaints have been made about the Police, UPDF, Prisons and ISO. “Some of the extreme cases resulted in loss of life. Complaints of allegations of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment constituted 31% of the total complaints received in 2009,” says the report. Most of the torture complaints were leveled against the Police (154), closely followed by UPDF (106). Those against RRU, the report says, more than doubled from 26 in 2008 to 55 in 2009. Complaints against ISO increased from 7 in 2008 to 11 in 2009, while those against CMI moved from 2 to 7 in 2009. Through civic education, victims are encouraged to challenge the security agencies in the UHRC tribunal. Consequently, the Attorney General’s office was ordered to pay Shs 325 million to victims of torture. The commission makes several recommendations, among them a law prohibiting torture. It also calls for compulsory human rights training for all security agencies. However, similar recommendations have been made yearly since the inception of the commission 12 years ago with little progress registered.

http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10562&Itemid=59