Lawyers protest deportation of five Rwandan suspects

What you need to know:

  • The lawyer lamented that following the deportation, his clients families are now stranded in Uganda while ill-intentioned people have taken advantage of the situation to make away with their property.

Kampala. Five, out of the six Rwandan nationals who were arrested and detained by Military Intelligence for days on unknown charges have been deported under unclear circumstances, lawyers said yesterday.
The lawyers said the five people were deported on December 29, 2017, hardly a day after their families made a passionate appeal to the government to have them released.

According to the lawyers those deported are Herbert Munyangaju, Freddy Turatsinze, Jessica Muhongerwa, Vanessa Gasaro, and Dinah Kamikazi.
Mr Gawaya Tegule, one of the lawyers accusing government security agencies of inhuman detention and extreme torture, told the media that the sixth person, Ms Anita Kamashazi, is still in detention under unknown charges.
Ms Kamashazi, according to Mr Tegule, was a bar attendant working for Ms Kamikazi in Mbarara prior to the arrest.

“The deportation is not grounded on law. They were driven and dropped at the Gatuna border where they were picked by the Rwandan government. But the manner in which the deportation was done was based on a suspicious letter purporting to be from the internal affairs’ ministry but without a clear reason,” said Mr Tegule, revealing that he had visited his clients in Rwanda.

The lawyer lamented that following the deportation, his clients families are now stranded in Uganda while ill-intentioned people have taken advantage of the situation to make away with their property.
Meanwhile, the lawyers have filed a case against the Attorney General (AG), the Chief of Defence Forces and the director of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) seeking orders to compel them to unconditionally release Ms Kamashazi.

When contacted, the Army Spokesperson, Brig Richard Karemire, said deportation is a mandate of the internal affairs ministry and that they are better placed to explain the circumstances.
Asked about the remaining person (Kamashazi), Brig Karemire said: “That one should be a refugee.”
When contacted, the spokesperson at the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, Mr Jacob Siminyu, said he was not aware of the said deportation but promised to respond through an email.