Uganda joined the rest of the world to commemorate the UN day in support of torture victims; under the theme “Justice to 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, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment. As for the police force, they are a civil force 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 anywhere. Nevertheless, I think (and if I am wrong the police should give an account of why they mistreated me 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 just five days before I was arrested 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 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 reduced, violence is too high among your people in Kifumbira in Kamwokya and told him a man was about to cut me into pieces.
This man is related to me through marriage and my problem was demanding him to pay my debt of only 50,000 shillings. General Kayihura responded to me in rather a strange manner saying, why do you say my people? 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 realised seeing General Kayihura is much more difficult than seeing any minister for I always walk in Ministers’ offices, 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 orchestrater. 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 because those voices can translate into electoral defeat to the ruling party. The government will muzzle any critical voices using a combination of manipulation and deception, cooption and bribery, coercion and intimidation and if need be killing of the political opponents. Otherwise, I would like to know why I was detained incommunicado, starved for five days, subjected to all sorts of untold suffering, taken to Butabika to be poisoned with drugs that almost took my life and I would also like to know why neither the president nor General Kayihura have responded to my concerns after I raised them in black and white. I also want to know why the Police and Dr Onen are threatening my life on account of a text message I sent to Dr Onen over whose contents I don’t apologise if genuinely they believe I am a person of unsound mind. I beg that I am helped to raise these issues for a threat to one human rights defender can have a domino effect on all others including the media practitioners for they are at the forefront of human rights defence. I don’t toot my own horn but I am far above an average Ugandan for I have taught in a university and many people look at me with optimism. Thus, I shouldn’t be killed like a fly.
After the Police realised that their dream of having me dead from the police cells 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 madman 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 Police Station only to be released after a friend working in state house called the Divisional Police Commander who told me “Nuwagaba you can go when we need you we shall call you”. With the aforementioned impunity that has engulfed the police force, would anyone think we are about to see the end of torture in the foreseeable future? Butabika is now a place they take tortured people to die or get justification for their torture. It is an extension of torture chambers. In fact, on 22nd June 2008, Reuben Wamala was killed in cold blood in Butabika Hospital I don’t know whether the media captured that. When they take you there they are telling you, never open your mouth again for you are a person of unsound mind. Personally, as a human rights defender and trained torture monitor I am happy that I was exposed to the sophisticated means they use to torture and kill innocent Ugandans. I only appeal to good Samaritans to extend a hand so that I can have a thorough examination in a first class hospital for my friends feel they could have injected in me slow killing toxins and I cannot rule out anything. Let me end with the words of Pastor Martin Niemoller about the Nazi regime in Germany, At first they came for Jews, I did not speak out because I was not a Jew; then they came for trade unionists I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist; then they came for Catholics, I didn’t speak out because I was a protestant; finally when they came for me, there was nobody left to speak out for me. Accordingly, we are duty bound to necessarily be our brothers’ keepers, short of that, today it is Vincent Nuwagaba, tomorrow it will be someone else. Let’s say no to impunity. Lets remind today’s torturers that they may be tomorrow’s tortured. For God and my country.
Vincent Nuwagaba is a human rights defender cum General Secretary Pan African Movement Uganda chapter
Email: vnuwagaba@gmail.com
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