The United States based, Human Rights Watch has appealed to police to investigate and prosecute officers involved in torturing suspects at Nalufenya special detentions center.
In a statement released on Sunday, the human rights body said police should stop denying allegations of torture when pictures of suspects clearly indicate severe cruelty inflicted on them.
“Uganda’s police leadership need to stop facile denials that torture festers in Uganda’s police cells, and particularly nowadays, in Nalufenya,” part of the statement said.
“Police should take suspects’ allegations seriously, investigate officers for torture and mistreatment, and work with prosecutors to finally bring charges under Uganda’s never-used Anti Torture Act.”
The rights body also wants the implicated officers to be dismissed from the force since they are acting contrary to their constitutional mandate.
“Officers who commit torture should be removed from police ranks. Police shouldn’t be allowed to commit crimes while seeking to fight them.”
Human Rights Watch noted that police has been changing the names of brutal units but their tactics of torture remain the same.
“First, Operation Wembley in Clement Hill, then Violent Crimes Crack Unit in Kireka, then Rapid Response Unit, also in Kireka and now the Special Investigations Division, at times assisted by staff from the Flying Squad, in Nalufenya.”
The body stressed that suspects who have been detained in all the above units have similar stories of torture.
“Scores of victims across Uganda have described nearly identical treatment during interrogations, including beatings on the joints with batons over several days, at times while handcuffed in stress positions with their hands under their legs.”
The media as of recent been publishing ugly pictures of tortured suspects charged for murdering the former Assistant Inspector General of Police, Andrew Felix Kaweesi.