MP Zaake sues top security officers over torture as opposition petitions UN
A coalition of opposition politicians on Wednesday petitioned the United Nations (UN), seeking it's intervention into the alleged torture of their leaders while they give out food to the hungry populace as the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown continues to bite.
While the opposition politicians; Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, Dr Kizza Besigye, Nobert Mao (DP), Asumani Basalirwa (Jeema) and counsel Peter Walubiri (UPC), were petitioning the secretary general of the U.N., Mr Antonio Gutteres, tortured Mityana municipality MP was petitioning Kampala High Court over torture by security personnel.
Through his lawyers of Kiiza & Mugisha Advocates, MP Zaake is seeking for unspecified compensation from individual police and military officers and government.
The individually sued officers are; Abel Kandiiho, the head of Chieftancy of Military Intelligence (CIM), Mr Alex Mwiine, the Mityana DPC, Mr Elly Womanya, the commandant of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Mr Twesigye Hamdani, Mr Musa Walugembe, the officer in charge of SIU, Mr Haruna Mulungi Nsamba.
"An order that the respondents (aforementioned officers), jointly and severally compensate the applicant (MP Zaake) with special, general, aggravated and punitive damages complained of herein above and an order of costs of the application," MP Zaake asks court.
The 29-year old legislator, in his court documents, contends that on April 19 this year as he was taking a shower at his upcountry home in Mityana District, a combined security detail of police and military, jumped over his wall fence and brutally arrested him.
He adds that the security detail was led by Mityana DPC Mwiine and Wamala Regional Police Commander, Mr Bob Kagarura.
He says that despite demanding for a search warrant, the determined officers, ransacked his house leading to the destruction and loss of his property before bundling him on a waiting pickup truck.
"The applicant (MP Zaake), was later held in incommunicado, tortured and detained without trial for 10 days until April 29 at several places including Mityana Police Station, CMI headquarters in Mbuya, SIU," he avers
Adding: "This caused the applicant (MP Zaake) physical and psychological pain and suffering, humiliation, loss of self-worth and threatened his life and divinity."
Mr Zaake was brutally arrested on allegations that he was distributing food to his electorate against a presidential directive banning gathering to minimise the spread of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
In his affidavit to support his torture claims, the youthful legislator, currently receiving treatment at Surgical ward in Rubaga hospital, claims his captors sprayed unknown substances into his eyes, causing him unbearable pain.
"DPC Mwiine together with RPC Kagarura and Haruna Mulungi Nsamba, started kicking me. I heard the RPC telling one of the officers to make sure that I don't see. I saw him handing over two cans containing unknown chemicals and spread them into my eyes. I felt a lot of pain, itching and I lost my sight," Mr Zaake contends.
He continued:" As they were putting me onto a police truck, the officers repeatedly mocked me saying Baganda are a problem here and that 'you think you will ever rule this country' and that they were to teach me a lesson."
He also states that at no time, his captors told him that he was being tortured for distributing food but kept on asking him why he opposes President Museveni and instead, supports opposition leader, Bobi Wine.
Back to the petition filed by the opposition politicians to the U.N., they want the world leaders to share these torture concerns in Uganda especially during this lockdown with the Security Council that they say are affecting country's democracy.
They also want U.N. to rally all donors to withdraw military aid to Museveni's government.
Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, has since directed the Internal Affairs minister, Gen. Jeje Odongo to appear today before the House and explain what happened to their very own.
