Why US gov’t sanctioned four Ugandan police officers

The US government on Wednesday announced it had issued sanctions against four senior police officers over human rights violations.

The US sanctioned  Bob Kagarura, the former Wamala Regional Police Commander, Alex Mwine,  former District Police Commander of Mitanya District, Elly Womanya former  Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigations Division, and Hamdani Twesigye, formerly attached to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

“They were involved in gross violations of human rights, namely torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment,” the US government said.

The sanctions saw the mentioned police officers banned from entry to the US and this has been extended to their immediate family members.

The genesis

The UG Bulletin has learnt that the sanctions stem from a case in which Mityana Municipality Member of Parliament, Francis Zaake was brutally arrested for allegedly distributing Covid relief to his electorates contrary to the presidential directives.

Police said then that Zaake disobeyed lawful orders by negligently distributing relief food which could have led to spread of the deadly coronavirus infection.

“The MP was distributing at least 2kgs of rice, and sugar to selected households in Buswabulongo and Kiwawu villages in Mityana Municipality; outside the guidelines and new protocols by the National Task Force, a national fundraising and food distribution task team, that is overseeing all forms of support to vulnerable families facing hunger or struggling to afford food within Uganda, during this period of the pandemic,”then police spokesperson, Fred Enanga said.

Enanga  said there were protocols and guidelines set by the national task force to facilitate donation of quality food items, fit for human consumption, by having it certified by the UNBS.

“This is also to ensure it is distributed in an orderly manner by the food distribution teams, which are screened to further reduce the risk of spreading the virus to vulnerable families benefiting from the food donations. The new protocols arose following a case of donated food that was found to be unfit for human consumption.”

He said that Zaake flouted all these guidelines leading to his arrest.

 Court

Consequently, Zaake dragged  Senior Commissioner of Police, Elly Womanya, the then  commandant, Police Investigations Division in Kireka, SSP Bob Kagarura, the then  Wamala Regional Police Commander, SP Alex Mwiine, the Mukono District Police Commander, Twesigye Hamdan , a police officer attached to SID in Kireka, Musa Walugembe, the officer in charge of SID, Kireka  and one Detective Assistant Commissioner of Police, Isaac Oketcho to court over torture.

Zaake said the officers tortured him but also  inflicted injuries on him.

In their defence, the officers denied ever torturing Zaake.

“I called SP Walugembe and asked him to bring Zaake to my office to record a statement but I was informed that he had complained of pain in the leg,” Womanya, the then SID commander said in his affidavit.

He said that  he sent for Zaake who was brought in a pickup and escorted by police officers to his office.

“Hon.Zaake told me he was in pain particularly in his leg. He told me he had been feeling uncomfortable since Arua. He also complained that he has problems with his eyes and that he had been beaten. I also noticed some bruises on his wrists and forehead.”

Womanya added  that when he inquired from the Mityana DPC about the bruises on Zaake’s body, he was told that the legislator knocked himself on the doors of the police cells and he was injured.

The SID commander also denied allegations that he participated in the torture of the legislator at Kireka, noting that since the day he was brought to his office to record a statement, he never interacted with him again.

“I didn’t return to office until Monday April,28,2020 due to sickness. I left Detective ACP Isaac Oketcho in charge and I never interacted with Hon.Zaake again.”

Bob Kagarura said that his role ended at sending a police double cabin vehicle to be used for transporting the legislator “with dignity” to Kampala.

“My role ended at the events described above. I was not involved in Zaake’s movement from Mityana to Kampala.”

The then Mityana District Police Commander, Alex Mwine said that while being transferred from the Mityana police cells to the vehicle, Zaake resisted.

“While one of Hon.Zaake’s arms was being handcuffed, he tried to resist another arm being handcuffed and in the process of trying to fight off police officers, he injured on the face with the dangling handcuff that was on one hand,” Mwine said.

“I know that in the whole fracas, at no time did anybody beat Hon.Zaake or use any spray of any kind, any object or teargas against him.”

However, in 2021, the High Court in Kampala ruled that there was abuse of Zaake’s rights when police arrested him and later detained at the Special Investigations Division in Kireka.

Justice Esta Nambayo based her findings on a medical report from the African Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims which showed the legislator had been tortured.

The judge said the medical report indicated that Zaake was in need of regular medical and psychological interventions like physiotherapy for his back and lower limbs.

The US government is said to have read from the same page with the High Court in regards the torture of Zaake, leading to the sanctions against the four police officers.

The Ugandan government is yet to comment about the sanctions.