UPDF forces and officials of other government-related military security agencies have committed and are still continuing committing multiple abuses against the human rights of northern Ugandans, including summary execution, torture, rape, child recruitment, and inhuman conditions of detention in unauthorized detention locations.
They are rarely prosecuted for crimes committed against civilians. Even when UPDF abuses have been investigated, the investigations have sometimes been kept internal and therefore have created an appearance of impunity, which has not improved public trust.UPDF responses to allegations of abuses against civilians, such as rape, unlawful killing, and torture, range from the crime going unpunished, to being "punished" by transferring the accused, to the court martial of some individual soldiers without proper investigation, all the way to the rare court martial. Often it appears that the action followed, or the punishment meted out is at the sole discretion of the individual UPDF field commander.For example, the storming of Gulu Prison by UPDF Soldiers.The UPDF has committed summary (extra judicial) execution and torture of captives since Operation Iron Fist began. Since the last time when four UPDF mambas (armored vehicles) full of UPDF soldiers raided Gulu Prison under the command of the head of military intelligence of Operation Iron Fist, Lt. Col. Charles Awany Otema. According to eyewitness reports by prison inmates and confirmed by the assistant superintendent of Gulu Central Prison, prison authorities (wardens) refused entry to the soldiers after the UPDF officers failed to produce a search warrant or any other document permitting them to enter.During the raid, the UPDF soldiers beat and pushed aside the prison wardens, as they forced their way into the prison. Captain Rugadia, of the intelligence division of Internal Security, ordered twenty-three prisoners by name out of their cells. A UPDF officer singled out a prisoner known as "Yumbe," Peter Oloya, who was accused of planning to escape from the prison. That officer then ordered the soldiers to shoot Peter Oloya.The prison wardens rejected this accusation and tried to stop the killing, arguing with the UPDF that no one would try to escape from the prison with so many soldiers present, and therefore there was no reason to shoot any prisoner. Nevertheless, the UPDF soldiers shot Peter Oloya in the back, with the bullet exiting his chest. Everyone panicked and another prisoner was almost shot.The UPDF soldiers hastily loaded the twenty-two prisoners, together with the dead body of Peter Oloya, on the mambas, ordering them to lie down flat.
They took the prisoners straight to the quarter guard at the army barracks detention center in Gulu. The UPDF took Peter Oloya's body away and has not released it to his relatives for burial as of the writing of this report. The UPDF claimed it had to move the prisoners from Gulu Prison based on military intelligence's discovery of a planned rescue attempt by the LRA.This event, and the subsequent torture of the prisoners at the Gulu barracks, has generated a number of civil suits, and actions by many human rights bodies such as UHRC, Amnesty International, etc. Leave alone many unreported arrest, detention, killing of civilians by the UPDF soldiers.These days is even worst under the command of Operation Iron Fist, Lt. Col. Charles Awany Otema, because the UPDF soldiers would falsely suspect you of being a rebel or rebels collaborators. On suspecting you, they will arrest you, torture or ill-treat and detain you in the military barrack. Sometimes they arrest you and dress you in military uniform and begin claiming that they caught you in the battlefront fighting against the government alongside the rebels. This happened to so many people who are civilians, some even students.
The best-known case of this kind occurred in Nwoya county last February 2005 where a man by name Opoka, a farmer was accused first of growing crops for rebels and later after he was arrested by UPDF soldiers from his garden even when digging in his cassava plantation by the UPDF soldiers. They arrested and dressed him in army uniform, and they later killed him, then they fabricated a story and reported that Opoka was a rebel and he was killed in a battlefront fighting on the side of LRA.
Another case was a boy named Odida Churchill from Awac, a student of Awere senior secondary school. Odida was arrested when he was coming from school and he was even carrying his books, but he was arrested, taken to Gulu military barrack, and later UPDF soldiers said he was arrested in a battle fighting alongside rebels. He was tortured to death by UPDF soldiers, and so many others.Non-stop Torture and Ill-Treatment by the UPDFThe UPDF soldiers ever since has been arresting, torturing and detaining civilians in Gulu military barracks. Aida Lagulu was arrested and gang-raped during her detention there.
Tony Kitara, the local councilor-III of Bungatira, Gulu district, reported that he was tortured in Gulu barracks. AbuOpoka was arrested, tortured and detained in Gulu Military barrack on so many times for being a mother of suspected rebel collaborator. Recently she was found shot with other women whom the UPDF soldiers claimed they shot them unintended because they (UPDF) thought they were rebels.In a separate case, Stephen O, a twenty-five-year-old man from Layibi in Gulu municipality, lost a leg after UPDF soldiers shoot him outside a shop and later they came back to make sure he was dead. Stephen went on his bicycle to the trading center to buy paraffin. Just before he entered the shop some UPDF soldiers ordered the shopkeeper to close up.
Two of the soldiers came up to him, placed him under arrest, asked him about his home, and started beating him with the butts of their guns.One soldier, addressing Stephen in Kiswahili, ordered him to run but Stephen did not understand him and ignored the order. The other soldier, from Teso in eastern Uganda, told him (in a language he understood) to run "otherwise I would be shot. I started to run and they shot at me. They hit me in my leg."The Teso soldier ordered many people around the shop to leave. stephen lost consciousness and woke up three hours later and started crawling into a nearby hotel. He heard the soldiers coming back to check on him and one said, "I told you the guy's leg was not shot properly, so he escaped."Stephen hid under a bed in a hotel room but the soldiers, after more searching, found him and took his identification card. He played dead.
More soldiers came in and argued over whether Stephen was dead or not. Searching his belongings, they took 1,000 Ugandan shillings from his pockets, and left. Two soldiers came back, dragged Stephen from the room, and threw him into the bush. Early in the morning, he managed to reach a nearby house and ask for help.Stephen's leg was amputated in Lacor hospital in Gulu but he did not take his medical form, describing his injuries, to the police afterward. He did not see any reason for doing this because, "There are so many people who were shot by UPDF in my area and nothing happened, nothing will happen when I bring the form to the police because even police is part of them."Torture is inflicted on some people held in military detention facilities by UPDF soldiers. After David O. was arrested for alleged collaboration with rebels, UPDF soldiers under the command of a second lieutenant, whose name David provided, burned David O. by pouring melting plastic from a jerry can over his shoulders and back.
The incident was reported to a local human rights organization. According to the report, David O. was initially arrested by members of the Kalangala Action Plan, and the torture allegedly took place in their presence. Subsequently the case developed its own momentum.
The UPDF arrested and reportedly tortured members of David O.'s family inside the army detachment to force them to disclose the name of the person who had reported the case to the human rights group. Under coercion, they provided the name of the paralegal of Olwal IDP camp, who was then arrested and kept in detention at the army detachment in Olwal camp.David O., the torture victim, was asked to pay 35,000 Ugandan shillings for his release. He was later sent to the hospital for treatment of his back, which was badly injured.A sixteen-year-old Peter O. who was abducted by the rebel of LRA but managed to escaped from the rebels was shot at by the UPDF when he was approaching a roadblock, even when he was pleading that he is a civilian.........
http://kivumbi.blogspot.com/2009/06/what-ugandas-intelligencedefence.html
I think I am the next reporter to be arrested and this should not be a surprise to East Africans and all citizens of the world.
The situation has grown intense and each minute that passes by tension, fear, insecurity & intimidation continues to infringe in the hearts of journalists, reporters, presenters, moderators and in the eyes of the public.
While in the conference with president Museveni yesterday alongside politicians, and religious leaders of all sects at Hotel Africana-Nile Hall discussing sustainable reconciliation, peace & justice, two more outstanding and prominent members of the media were arrested.
Robert Serumaji of spectrum 7:00pm-8:00pm Radio One, Mon-Fri, was arrested though acquitted on police bound with caution of not presenting and moderating again!
Just immediately when Peter Kibazo (Radio Simba-6:00pm- 8:00pm, Mon-Fri) had finished his program on WBS TV, was besieged and arrested. Till now he hasn’t been realized.
At the beginning of this week a television & another radio journalist were arrest in Kayunga, Bugerere where the Kabaka –Youth function was supposed to take place but made impossible by president Museveni!
Tonight I stand fearlessly and unchallenged by any one who claims journalist are inciting violence while executing there services as required;
I demand for the immediate and thorough realize of Serumaji, I insist that Peter Kibazo and other programmers of ‘Binsangawano’ early morning program on radio Simba be reinstated unconditionally.
We can’t stay silent when CBS, Radio Sapentia, Ssubi Fm, & Kaboozi Stations turned off by the National Broadcasting Council on orders from above;
In the first case who is that above?
This is the time we must show solidarity as Ugandans here and in the Diaspora, you must join me in sending a direct massage to these perpetrators on tension, affliction & intimidation.
President Museveni and his counter parts in authority must abandon there despotic character that has caused anarchy and suppression for our country, and the time is now!
T
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We shall strive to see that such species of nature continue to survive
