Perpetrators of assault must be held accountable

Here is a short version of a true but harrowing story of sexual violence that happened and unfortunately continues to happen in contemporary Uganda. 

During the 20-year LRA civil conflict in northern Uganda, civilian women, girls, and men in the Acholi sub-region were sexually assaulted by soldiers. For the male victims, this act came to be known as tek-gungu, as the soldiers would ask them to bend (Gungu) before they perpetrated the act. The battalion that perpetrated that violence is known by the people in northern Uganda, and they named it the Gungu battalion, but to date, justice has not been served. This is partly due to denial by the government. Before you dismiss this as a baseless allegation, I implore you to take a trip to northern Uganda and speak to the victims. Some of them are still alive to tell their own stories. Some of these stories have been documented in various forms, including print and digital media. 

A quick search on YouTube using the words ‘They slept with me’ or ‘Gender Against Men’, will lay the background to the issue I intend to address. For some it may be re-traumatising, and I apologise in advance as it is not the intention of this article. The purpose is to cast a spotlight on acts by our security forces that are evil and dehumanising, but unfortunately go unnoticed. 

Recently, some members of the National Unity Platform were released on bail by the General Court Martial after over six months of arbitrary detention. Among them was Edward Ssebufu, popularly known as Eddie Mutwe, who narrated to the media how security men asked them at gunpoint to strip naked, spread their legs and bend over (tek-gungu), as they analysed their sexual organs. Wiping away tears, Eddie Mutwe rightly explains that he felt that the purpose of that act was to humiliate and strip them of their dignity. 

 Just last year, while Makindye West Member of Parliament, Allan Ssewanyana was being forcefully arrested, one police officer, squeezed his genitals in a bid to subdue him. As a result, Ssewanyana groaned in pain and lost the power to resist. We have seen many similar scenarios perpetrated by police, notably, the infamous video of Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, who was forced to squeal in pain as a similar tactic was deployed on him just in front of his gate.

Several survivors of Gen Kale Kayihura’s infamous Nalufenya detention cells have testified to being sexually assaulted (or tortured as reports would prefer to sugarcoat it). 

Former presidential candidate Joseph Kabuleta has also shared how he was taken to the infamous detention facility in Kireka, where he was ordered to strip to his underwear, before using other forms of torture on him, while filming the whole incident. 

I could go on and on, but the truth is, we may never know the true number of people that are victims of such violence. Unfortunately, many of us take this lightly due to ignorance, selfishness, or both. In Uganda today, it is the norm for such incidents to be largely used as comedy skits and social media memes by the public. 

One wonders where we find the audacity to joke about such matters. 

Some may argue that squeezing someone’s genitals or ordering them to strip does not constitute acts of sexual violence, however, according to the United Nations, sexual violence takes multiple forms and includes rape, sexual abuse, forced pregnancy, forced sterilisation, forced abortion, forced prostitution, trafficking, sexual enslavement, torture, forced circumcision, castration and forced nudity. 

As a nation, we need to strongly condemn and breed a culture of intolerance for violence. Instead of laughing and mocking victims, the public should hold perpetrators accountable for their actions. Additionally, there is a need to create awareness on what constitutes sexual violence, especially among security agencies.

Ms Peninah Kansiime is a social work lecturer and researcher.