Kabuye Ronald
Kampala High Court Civil division Judge Esta Nambayo has ordered government to compensate the Mityana Municipality legislator Hon. Francis Zaake Butebi 75 million shillings for infringing and violating his fundamental human rights and freedoms.
Hon. Zaake who was first detained at Mityana Police Station and later the Special Investigations Division in Kireka later sued the Attorney General on behalf of government and individual senior security officers including Abel Kandiiho, the CMI chief, Elly Womanya, the then commandant, Police Investigations Division in Kireka, SSP Bob Kagarura, the former Wamala Regional Police Commander, SP Alex Mwiine, the former Mukono District Police Commander, Twesigye Hamdan, a police officer attached to SID in Kireka, Musa Walugembe, the officer in charge of SID, Kireka and one Detective Assistant Commissioner of Police, Isaac Oketcho petitioned court challenging the mentioned above for violating his fundamental human rights by torturing him.
Through his lawyers of Kiiza and Mugisha advocates, Hon. Zaake thought for various declarations from court especially regarding the violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms.
“A declaration that the intentional infliction of severe pain and suffering, on the Applicant during his arrest and detention by the Respondents and/or their subordinates/officers through their actions and/or omissions including punching, kicking and pepper-spraying as well as tying and forcing the Applicant to assume a fixed and stressful body position while denying him access to medication, doctors and medical professionals of his choice threatened his life, infringed on the Applicant’s fundamental human rights to dignity and freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment protected by Articles 20, 24, 44 (a) and (c) of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda. “Zaake petitioned
Zaake was last year brutally arrested by police for distributing Covid relief food items to his constituents contrary to government guidelines aimed at controlling the spread of the virus. He was tortured during his arrest and detention however the then state minister for internal affairs Hon. Obiga Kania told parliament that Hon. Zaake was only cut by the handcuff as he resisted arrest but he was never tortured.
Zaake Had also prayed to be compensated 400,000,000 shillings but only 75,000,000 has been awarded to him.
“In view of the above findings, this petition succeeds in part and this court now makes the following orders and declarations: –
1. A declaration be and is hereby issued that the infliction of pain and injury on the Applicant during his detention by the Police infringed on his fundamental human rights to dignity and freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment protected under Articles 20, 24, 44 (a) of the 1995 constitution.
2. A declaration be and is hereby issued that the period between the 19th/04/2020 and the 29th/04/2020, 10 days, that the Applicant was detained for more than 48hrs before he was arraigned in the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Mityana, constituted unlawful and illegal detention and was in violation of his personal liberty under Article 23(4) (b) of the Constitution of Uganda.
3. It is hereby ordered that the 1st Respondent pays a sum of UGX 75,000,000/- [Seventy-five Million Shillings only] to the Applicant in compensation of violations of his rights and freedoms.
The 1st Respondent pays the costs of this application.
Certificate of two Counsel is not granted. “ Judge Esta Nambayo ordered.
Hon. Zaake exhibited delight for winning the petition on his twitter handle.
“Delighted to win the lawsuit I filed against criminal police officers Mwine Alex Mukono (former DPC Mityana Municipality) & Bob Kagarura (former RPC Wamala Region) + operatives at SIU torture facility in Kireka who tortured me for donating food to neighbours during 1st lockdown.” He tweeted
