PUBLISHED BY REDPEPER ON SATURDAYJULY 4TH 2009
As Uganda joins the rest of the world to commemorate the UN day in support of torture victims, I feel we need to take stock of the effectiveness of our institutions that are mandated to protect our life, liberty and security. For purposes of this article, I shall confine myself to security institutions and hospitals and later look at the civil society.
It is clear from all the human rights reports that the military and the police top the list of perpetrators of torture in this country. This happens in spite of the fact that both the military and the police have had a series of human rights trainings. In the military, there is the civil-military desk whose mandate among others is to ensure observance of human rights and making sure the military refrains from perpetrating torture. As for the police force, they are supposed to be human rights defenders and I have attended a series of human rights defenders’ trainings and seminars with the police officers. But one wonders why they are hell-bent on torturing suspects and human rights defenders. Personally, I was in the police torture chambers wherein I witnessed real hell on earth. And my major crime up to this day I have never known for despite my levels of education, I never recorded a statement, I was detained incommunicado, I was physically tortured and starved a reason I think they wanted me to die from the cells and later dump my body any where. Nevertheless, I think (and if I am wrong the police should give an account of why they mistreated that way) it stems from my principled stand against social injustice. My contributions on radio talk shows, my news paper articles and my appearance on UBC TV with Minister Charles Bakabulindi cannot just be ignored. My article on NSSF appeared in Monitor on 9th April following the two previous ones that were run on 16th and 24th of March 2008 and on the same day I reported a case of threatening violence under SD Ref: 45/9/04/2008 at Kira Road Police station. My case was not attended to and I thus called the Inspector General of Police on 10th April 2008. I told him that contrary to the report you have recently authored that the crime rate has reduces, violence is too high in Kifumbira in Kamwokya and told him a man was about to cut me into pieces. This man is related to me for he is cohabiting with my cousin and my problem was demanding them to pay my debt of only 50,000 shillings. General Kayihura responded to me in rather a rude manner saying, why you say my people and I told him they are because I am sure you are a Mufumbira. He gave me an appointment on phone to meet him in his office only to be tormented and traumatized by the police officers who were at the gate. I have seen seeing General Kayihura is much more difficult than seeing any minister for I always walk in Ministers office, fill a query form and within a matter of a few minutes I have seen the minister. My deduction is that General Kayihura despite occupying the most sensitive office for it deals on a daily basis with people, he feels extremely insecure. And because of this insecurity, the police force has become a torture instigator, perpetrator and orchestrator. It is clear; a government that has largely deliberately or inadvertently failed or refused to provide services to the citizens has a high tendency of fearing critical voices. I don’t toot my own horn but I am far above an average Ugandan for I have taught in a university and can communicate to anybody in any part of the world using a foreign language.
After realising that their dream wasn’t achieved, they connived with Butabika Hospital staff to take me as a person with a mental illness. In fact, I accepted to go there expecting the doctors to use scientific means before they could arrive at their conclusions. Sadly, I was sedated and kept in the “hospital” for nine days as they were subjecting me to drugs. After nine days, I was temporarily discharged and ordered to go back in eight hours. After getting out I said to myself, it is only a fool who can go back. I wrote to the Hospital Executive Director complaining about Dr Nakku and Mr Jjuko who had mishandled me, up to this day I have got no response. When the police realized I was that serious they trailed me once again and on the 15th May 2008, I was arrested at Jinja Road.
Later on the 23rd May I was hosted on Radio West where I decried the state of our roads, health centres and education especially universal primary education. Later as soon as I came back to Kampala I was arrested, dumped into the CPS dungeon and later taken to Butabika. In Butabika I was subjected to very dangerous drugs which caused hell to me. I am sure, all they wanted was to have me dead. After realizing that their mission was accomplished, they discharged me. On the 26th June I participated in the UN day in support of torture victims commemoration. The following day, I woke up when I was extremely in a sorry state. I went straight home but by the time I went home, everybody who saw me knew that I would not survive. In fact, when I reached Ishaka Hospital all the medical staff gathered around me. Two days later, our neighbour died from the same hospital and people who had seen me thought it is me who had died given the state in which I was. It is very clear that Dr Onen wanted to kill me using drugs. Sadly, when I explained to him that he wrote a weird report which I am sure he cannot even defend in court.
I say all this to show to all who care about humanity that our institutions have been abused because they all aim at one thing, retaining Museveni in power and this is quite unfortunate. Lord Acton was right when he said power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The civil society which should act as a check against the excesses of the government seems to be not doing enough. In fact, the language has now shifted from constructive criticism to constructive engagement. In fact, if one was very critical of the misdeeds of the government, chances are high that they will not get a job in any civil society organisation. The civil society should act as a mirror for the government. Accordingly, if the government muzzles civil society organisations, it would be akin to destroying a mirror just because it has shown you the blemishes on your face yet the solution would be to cleanse yourself of the blemishes. If the state agencies don’t check themselves, we are bound to relapse into a state of anarchy.
Vincent Nuwagaba
Human rights defender
vnuwagaba@gmail.com
+256772843552
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