Uganda Human Rights Commission-UHRC has fixed April 24th as the date for hearing a case against UPDF and Military police officers accused of torturing a journalist in Bushenyi. Chris Mugasha Ahimbisibwe, a journalist with New Vision dragged UPDF and Military Police to UHRC for torture and loss of property during the trial of three People’s Redemption Suspects at Bushenyi High Court in 2007.
The suspects are the late Musasizi Kifefe, a brother to Kiiza Besigye, Frank Atukunda and Robert Darious Tweyambe. They were accused of treason and murdering John Byarugaba, a resident of Kyamuhunga during the Allied Democratic Forces insurgency in Imaramagambo forest. In his petition filed in March 2007, Ahimbisibwe alleges that while covering the bail application of the trio at Bushenyi High Court soldiers and Military police officers beat him up and confiscated his gadgets.
He alleges that after torturing him his tormentors bundled him on a military pick up and dumped him at Bushenyi Police post where he was detained. He wants UHRC to compel the army and military police to compensate him for the torture occasioned on him by its operatives during the course of his duty. But since he filed the case in 2007, UHRC had not scheduled it.
Ginamia Melody, the registrar of UHRC has issued summons indicating that hearing of the case has been scheduled for April 24, 2012. UHRC has asked the attorney general’s office to respond to the accusations filed by the journalist. Ahimbisibwe has welcomed UHRC for bringing up the case saying that he was about to give up on it after years of waiting for his case to be listed for hearing. He says that he hope justice will be served.
