Police officers filmed brutalising handcuffed man arrested 

Three police officers captured in a video brutalising a man in Ibuje Town Council, Apac District, have been arrested.

This video recorded on May 31, 2022 shows security officers brutalising a handcuffed man identified as Ronald Mumbere.

The victim is a truck driver with Sadeem Al-Kuwait General Trading and Contracting Company that was contracted to upgrade the Rwenkunye- Apac Road.

He reportedly had a disagreement with Mr Caesar Meghila, an administrator at the same company, which resulted into a confrontation. Consequently, the company brought in police personnel to calm the situation but they ended up arresting and brutalising the suspect.

In the video clip that went viral on social media, three police officers were seen administering Mr Mumbere with an overdose of punches and kicks.

An employee of Sadeem Al Kuwait who preferred not to be named for fear of reprimand, told this publication that the victim had been sacked from his job after getting involved in a road accident in central Uganda recently. He returned to claim for compensation for the expenses he incurred when he was arrested over the accident.

“He was a driver at this company but some three months ago his truck got involved in a road accident in central Uganda and he was arrested and released on court bail. So, he had come demanding for the money he spent to secure bail but these people kept tossing him and he became annoyed and slapped one of them,” the source said.

But other sources earlier said the victim was among the dozens of employees who were complaining about their delayed two-month salary arrears.

Mr Lawrence Munu, the community liaison officer at Sadeem Al-Kuwait General Trading and Contracting Company, condemned the act of torture by police.

He also rubbished the claims that the man was tortured for demanding for his salary arrears.

“As per this case of yesterday (Tuesday, May 31, 2022), the man is not claiming salary, he is claiming that he paid for court bail when he was arrested after his vehicle got involved in an accident yet he was given none cash bail, according to his court document,” Mr Munu said.

The North Kyoga regional police spokesperson, Mr Jimmy Patrick Okema, confirmed that investigations have commenced into the matter, adding that three police officers captured in the video have been arrested.

“We have reached to the victim through the District Police Commander (DPC) of Apac and we are ensuring that this matter is attended to and justice realised,” he said when contacted on Wednesday.

Sadeem Al Kuwait General Trading and Contracting Company is a company contracted to undertake the upgrading of a 90.9 Kilometre Rwenykunye-Apac Road at the cost of Shs 317 billion.

In October 2020, President Museveni officially flagged off the project with a three-year completion period.

However, during a site visit on May 14, 2022, the State Minister for Works and Transport, Mr Musa Ecweru, said only three percent of works had been done in the first half of the contract period.