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Kaweesi murder suspects to be given Shs80m over torture
The suspects leave the court room recently. PHOTO BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- The suspects told court that they were arrested from their homes and unlawfully detained in military custody before being transferred to the dreaded Nalufenya Police Station in Jinja District which is reputed for torture.
- Kaweesi was gunned down with his bodyguard and driver on March 17 this year as he left his home in Kulambiro. The gunmen made off with his pistol and the escort’s gun.
The High Court in Kampala has ordered that each of the 22 suspects in the murder of former police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi be compensated with Shs80 million for violation of their rights.
Justice Margret Oguli on Thursday ordered government to pay Shs80 million to each of the suspects at 20 per cent interest from date of court ruling (October 12, 2017) on grounds that prison authorities violated their rights by torturing them while in custody.
“The applicants are still suspects until proven guilty. And therefore should be treated well without torturing them,” she said.
According to the judge, there was enough evidence to show that prison authorities were hiding something when they refused to subject the suspects to medication.
This follows an application by the suspects’ lawyer Ladislaus Rwakafuzi seeking court orders compelling government to take them for medical examination to verify the cause of injuries they had.
The suspects told court that they were arrested from their homes and unlawfully detained in military custody before being transferred to the dreaded Nalufenya Police Station in Jinja District which is reputed for torture.
They further told court that they had not received sufficient treatment for the wounds.
Kaweesi was gunned down with his bodyguard and driver on March 17 this year as he left his home in Kulambiro. The gunmen made off with his pistol and the escort’s gun.
Many suspects were arrested and remanded but when they later appeared in court, most of them had wounds they claimed were inflicted on them by security officers while in custody.
