Gov’t: Torture is not our policy nor is it even a method of interrogation

The acting Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Muruli Mukasa said on Tuesday that torture is not a policy of government nor is it even a method of interrogation.

In a statement he read out on the floor of Parliament, Muruli said that any officer who tortures a suspect does so in his or her personal capacity and would be handled in accordance with the law.

The Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister was responding to reports of alleged human rights violations by State Security operatives.

“Torture is not a policy of government nor is it even a method of interrogation. The law on this is very clear. The President has in his own words stated the position and policy of government,” Muruli noted.

Muruli said that criminal offences in Uganda are a creature of law, so too are the procedures of arrest of suspected offenders.

The minister’s remarks come at a backdrop of two individuals, critical writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija and National Unity Platform (NUP) cordinator for Kasese, Samuel Masereka, whose photos while displaying marks of torture sustained in detention have been a subject of debate in the country and abroad.

Civil society groups, the US Embassy and European Union have come out strongly to condemn acts of torture, saying that these undermine the country’s constitution.

Last week, opposition MPs walked out of Parliament in protest against the acts of torture against opposition supporters and said that they would return after weeks.

Muruli, in his statement to Parliament said that political party affiliations does not invite criminal liability under the Ugandan laws and breach of due process in enforcement of the law also has remedies for those who feel mistreated and unlawfully treated.

“Government does not know and does not need go know the political inclination of all the suspects in custody. No body is above the law and any attempt to politicise the handling of offenders would be in breach of the spirit of the constitution and the impartial administration of justice. It would also promote impunity,” Muruli said.

Adding, “Those suspects the Hon members of the opposition claim to speak for and indeed all the suspects in custody, are entreated to have recourse to the remedies provided for in our laws in pursuing the management and conclusion of their cases.”