The High Court in Kampala has ruled that the rights of critical book writer, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija were violated when he was arrested , detained for several days and tortured in 2020.
Kakwenza sued government for torture when he was arrested by the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence from his Iganga home stemming from his book, “The Greedy Barbarian”.
On Wednesday, Justice Boniface Wamala ruled that the Constitution states that when a person is arrested or detained upon reasonable suspicion of his or her having committed or being about to commit a criminal offence under the laws of Uganda, he or she shall, if not earlier released, be brought to court as soon as possible but in any case not later than 48 hours from the time of his arrest.
He added the the person is entitled to be accessed by a next of kin, lawyer and a medical doctor or access to medical treatment .
“In the present case, the evidence by the applicant is that he was arrested from his home in Iganga District by military men and others in civilian clothes on 13th April 2020, was blindfolded and driven to a destination that he later came to know from other detainees as the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) headquarters. It was averred that on 18th April 2020, he was dragged to the Special Investigations Unit in Kireka where he endured further detention,” Justice Wamala said.
He noted that evidence on record shows that Kakwenza’s rights were violated when he was detained beyond the mandatory 48 hours but also denied the right to access his lawyer and next of kin.
The judge therefore noted that the actions of the state were illegal and violated Kakwenza’s right to personal liberty guaranteed under Article 23(4) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.
“The actions by the respondents’ officers or agents of beating, kicking, blindfolding, hanging and dragging him while hand and leg-cuffed, and incommunicado detention done against the applicant; amounted to torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and constituted breach of the applicant’s right to human dignity and freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under Articles 24 and 44(a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.”
The judge therefore ruled and ordered that Kakwenza be paid shs40 million in general damages and shs10 million in exemplary damages.