Former ISO detainees speak out on safe houses
The director of ISO, Col Bagyenda Kaka
What you need to know:
- Vincent Nganda, also a former detainee, said he was picked when he lent his vehicle to a friend who used it to carry out robbery around the city.
A group of detainees who allegedly spent months in safe houses around Kampala and islands on Lake Victoria have disputed claims of torture, saying those making the allegations are hardcore criminals who fear being rearrested.
Speaking at a press conference in Kampala on Friday, the group said while they spent months in the safe houses in Kyengera and in other places, they were never tortured but instead trained on how to detect and fight crime.
Muhammad Ikula, the leader of the group that has since mobilised and formed a company to improve their livelihood, said he was arrested in April by three plain-clothed security operatives who later introduced themselves as operatives from the Internal Security Organisation (ISO).
Ikula claimed that the operatives arrested him for alleged links with a notorious thug called Whisper whom he knew.
“I was asked to record a statement on a paper that had the headline special guest. After two months in Kyengera, they took us to Heritage Beach from where we boarded a boat to an island on Lake Victoria,” he said.
He added: “We spent another four months there and we trained in various skills on how to help our country and fight crime.”
Ikula said they were 40 people detained and after the training, they were also to form groups in order to get support to start income-generating activities.
“On September 4, we were brought back home. Some of my colleagues went home to do their private work. We have formed a company to help former prisoners and convicts to stop criminal activities,” he said.
Ikula appealed to the ISO director and government to assist their company to start operations. “We shall move across the country to sensitise Ugandans against crime and ensure that we live as brothers and sisters,” he said.
Vincent Nganda, also a former detainee, said he was picked when he lent his vehicle to a friend who used it to carry out robbery around the city.
“When they interrogated me and realised that I was not involved in the robberies, they released me and told me to start something gainful,” he said.
We could not, however, authenticate the claims of the group.
Our attempts to get clarification from the director of ISO, Col Bagyenda Kaka, were futile by press time.
ISSUE
ISO has been in the spotlight for running the notorious safe houses used as torture Chambers. It has also been severally accused of coaching suspects to make confessions to implicate certain individuals and groups of people.
