Kawooya speaks out on brutal arrest: 'I was called on a friend's phone to set me up'

Yusuf Kawooya, the man showed in a video being beaten severely by security operatives in plain clothes along Colville Street near Christ the King Church has spoken out on the incident.

On October 18, a video captured by Record TV circulated on social media showing five security operatives armed with guns hitting Kawooya with gun butts repeatedly along Colville Street near Christ the King church in Kampala.

Speaking on his hospital bed at Kampala Hospital, Kawooya narrated that on reaching the city after dropping his kids at school, he received a phone call from one of his friends that he now believes was a set up for his arrest.

“He called asking for my whereabouts and when I told him where I was and that I would be leaving shortly. He asked me to go to his office to buy him lunch,”Kawooya narrated.

Kawooya says that despite insisting on not going to his friend’s office to buy him lunch, he realised something was not right with his friend.

“No sooner had he hung up, than a Nissan vehicle parked behind me. Four men disembarked and stood beside the vehicle and one of them called my name but I didn’t know any of the men.”

He narrates that at this time, the men said he was wanted but a thought of running for his dear life engulfed him after realising the vehicle had guns and other men inside.

According to him as he took to the heels for his dear life, the men run after him while asking colleagues to cock their guns.

“As I run to cross the road to Church (Christ the King), another vehicle came from nowhere and blocked me, on turning back, I started receiving punches and beatings using gun butts from the men.”

In the video that went viral, Kawooya is seen pleading with his tormentors not to beat him after giving in to their demands but in vain.

“Twagala mmotoka( we want the vehicle),” the four officers said as they hit him with gun butts repeatedly all over his body including the kidney area.

The ruthless men would later forcefully bundle Kawooya into a waiting taxi and driven to an unknown destination.

On Wednesday, he was released on bond from the Special Investigations Division in Kireka.

Ribs broken

Kawooya who was admitted at Kampala hospital for further treatment after release is now nursing broken ribs.

Results from an X-ray scan have shown that two of his ribs were broken whereas another one was dislocated due to the beating from the armed security operatives.

“I can no longer hear anything after my right ear was affected.

Government apologises

On Thursday, on behalf of government, the State Minister for Internal Affairs, Obiga Kania apologized for the inhumane acts meted out by armed security operatives to Kawooya.

“We are sorry for what happened but in case Kawooya committed any crime, it is totally a different matter. It didn’t necessitate that kind of arrest for any body and not only Kawooya,” Kania said on Thursday at Parliament.

Kania said officers involved in the gruesome act will face the wrath of the law because the manner in which they handled the arrest was wanting.

“Arrest is legal and genuine if somebody has been informed of his crime but if he resists, only use necessary force to subdue him. When he has been subdued, there is no need to apply extra force on them,”Kania said.

The minister insisted there is no reason for torturing any Uganda, be it suspects during and after arrest.

Kawooya’s relatives however said the apology will not mend wounds and damage including broken ribs caused to their beloved one by security operatives.

“Scan results have shown that some of his ribs were broken. No amount of apology will reverse this situation,” said Sula Kawooya, a family member.

The army recently apologized for the inhuman and brutal arrest of Kawooya by some of its men.

“This is to regret this unfortunate incident and to assure the public that such conduct is unacceptable and anyone who breaks the law will be held to account and will be punished accordingly,” the Deputy army spokesperson, Lt.Col. Deo Akiiki told The Nile Post.

Five people alleged to have been captured in the video were on Saturday arraigned before the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence Unit Disciplinary Committee and charged with conduct prejudicial to the good order and discipline of defence forces contrary to the UPDF Act 2005.

“You are charged with executing an operation without following the standard operating procedures,” said the court chairperson Col.Tom Kabuye while reading the charges to the suspects.

The five suspects would later admit to the charges before asking for lenient punishments by the army court.

“It is true we committed the offence when we went on the operation but the suspect turned out violent during the arrest,”Cpl Ssenkungu who is said to have led the group told court before his colleagues also added their voices to admit the charge.

Torture

Security agencies have always been in the spotlight for torturing suspects, during and after arrest.

The High Court last year ordered government to compensate the 22 AIGP Andrew Kaweesi murder suspects to a tune of shs1.7 billion for being tortured while in detention at Nalufenya police station in Jinja district.

Earlier, gruesome photos circulated on social media depicting then Kamwenge mayor, Godfrey Byamukama rotting at Nakasero hospital after being tortured by police after being arrested in connection with the murder of AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi.

Photos showing sceptic wounds on the knees and ankles circulated allover social media drawing public sympathy towards Byamukama before he was alter released on police bond.

In May 2017, four policemen were charged in connection with the alleged torture of Byamukama by the Buganda road magistrate’s court before being released on bail.

According to the charge sheet, the policemen allegedly tortured Byamukama using batons and iron bars while driving him in a police van after his arrest.

In August, photos showing tortured Members of Parliament including Robert Kyagulanyi also known as Bobi Wine, Francis Zaake and other people arrested over the chaos in the Arua Municipality by-election circulated on social media and other media platforms.

Members of the security agencies were later condemned for torturing the group suspected of having stoned the presidential convoy while in Arua.

In May 2017, President Museveni wrote to heads of various security agencies, including police, military and intelligence castigating the use torture as a method of interrogation, arguing that it is “traditional” and “defective’’.

“The use of torture is unnecessary and wrong and must not be used again if it was being used as I see some groups claiming in the media,” Museveni said.

“It is, therefore, clear that you may torture the wrong person, somebody who is totally innocent. This is very unfair,” he says. “Somebody may admit guilt when he is innocent in order to be spared being tortured. This will make the real criminal escape in order to commit more crimes later. Thirdly, confessions by the criminals are not necessary.”

Museveni noted that other methods like finger-prints, photographs, DNA tests, eyewitnesses, and dogs can be applied and the criminals can get convicted than torturing them.