Mityana Municipality Legislator Hon, Francis Zaake is to be compensated 75m shillings for acts of torture meted on him during his detention in March 2020.
Zaake last year petitioned the High Court demanding to be compensated by the state and police bosses for the human rights violations while being detained at gov’t facilities.
He had sued the Attorney General together with eight police officers.
High court Justice Esta Nambayo ruled in favor of the legislator after sighting evidence of inhumane treatment he suffered in the hands of police cops at various detention facilities.
2 Reports, one submitted before parliament by the then Minister of Internal Affairs Jeje Odongo and another from the African Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims revealed consistent torture of Zaake.
Justice Nambayo’s judgment read in part;” In this case, a report from African Center For Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims annexure A has the Doctor’s recommendation showing that the Applicant was in great need of medical and psychological intervention like Physiotherapy of his back and lower limbs, together with verbal individual therapy with psycho intervention and regular reviews from an ophthalmologist”.
Justice Nambayo further states; “ The video clip showing the arrest… and another showing the Applicant hospitalized, show that at the time of his arrest, he had sound sight and was not in pain as compared to the time of hospitalization when he had closed his eyes in pain, with injuries all over his body. The above evidence leaves me with no other option but to arrive at a conclusion that the injuries… were sustained while in Police custody,” Nambayo said”
In his petition, Zaake sought punishment and compensation from each of the 8 police cops who ordered his battering but that has not been the case.
Justice Nambayo said the implicated officers went Scott free for lack of evidence pinning them to the crime.
These include; Wamala Regional Police Commander Bob Kagarura, Mityana District Police Commander Alex Mwiine, Elly Womanya, the former commandant of the police’s Special Investigation Unit, Musa Walugembe, the officer in charge of the Special Investigations Unit, Abel Kandiho, the commander of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, Hamdan Twesigye and Haruna Mulungi Nsamba.
Lawyer to Zaake Eron Kiiza is half pleased with the judgment;” the judgment is good to the effect that Torture was found to have been committed by state functionaries against Hon Zaake and the fact that the officers who committed it have been left off the hook is not a good sign but I think it is still a warning for them the fact that they have got sympathy from this court, does not guarantee that future courts will do the same. My message to them is that they treat political activists with dignity and refrain from torture
Zaake was arrested from the Mityana district in March 2020 while distributing food to communities in his constituency.
He was detained for 10 days at Mityana Police Station, the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence Headquarters in Mbuya, Special Investigations Unit in Kireka, before being transferred to the Japan-Uganda Friendship Hospital in Naguru and later to Kiruddu Hospital in Makindye.
He was released on April, 29t, 2020 on police bond.
