The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has condemned the manner in which security agencies tortured the suspects in assasination attempt against Works Minister Gen Katumba Wamala saying the act is unacceptable and contravenes domestic as well as international laws.
The condemnation from ULS follows an incident on July 8, 2021 when Sserubula Hussein Ismail, Nyanzi Yusuf Siraj,
Kagugube Muhamad, Walusimbi Kamada, Kisambira Siriman Ayub, Abdulaziz Rhamathan Dunku and Habib Rhamathan Marjan -all suspects in the attack on Gen Katumba Wamala appeared in court with torture marks and injuries on their bodies.
In a statement released on Saturday, ULS president Pheona Nabasa Wall condemned the conduct of security agencies as cruel, degrading, inhumane, unconstitutional. She also said the act compromises prosecution of the case.
The ULS president cited Article 24 of the 1995 Uganda Constitution and Section (3)1 of the Prohibition and Prevention of Torture Act 2012 which directs that no person shall be subjected to any form of torture, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.
“Additionally, Uganda ratified the UN Convention against torture, cruel treatment and even enacted Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act 2012 together with Robben Island guidelines..”
Ms Wall said such torturous actions call for reskilling of the police ans all security agencies to enable them move away from achaic methods of investigations that emphasizes confessions (guilty finding) rather than obtaining the truth (fact finding) using more scientific methods.
The Law Society also faulted the conduct of the Court magistrate for denying the plea from suspect’s lawyers to have them taken for proper treatment but instead remanded them to Kitalya Prison.
“Section (7)2 of the Human Rights (enforcement) Act, 2019 provides that where a human rights matter arises in proceedings before the Magistrate’s Court, court must immediately stay the proceedings in the main matter and first determine the human rights issue raised. Further remanding the suspects and letting the matter continue in total disregard of evidential torture, we believe is a further miscarriage of justice” Ms Wall said.