Kaweesi murder: Tortured Kamwenge mayor awarded shs1.4bn in compensation

The Kamwenge town Godfrey Byamukama who was in 2017 tortured by Police after being accused of participation in the gruesome murder of AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi was awarded shs1.4 billion in compensation for the torture.

Byamukama , who had come to Kampala for his private business was arrested by operatives of the Police Flying Squad, bundled into a waiting drone van and detained at Nalufenya police station which by then had been christened as a torture chamber due to accounts by a number of suspects detained at the facility.

Grisly images that make rounds on social media the following days showed torture marks all over the body of the Kamwenge mayor, attracting condemnation from members of the public.

Whereas four police officers including D/ASP Patrick Muramira, D/ASP Fred Tumuhairwe, Habib Roma and Ben Odeke were arraigned before the Buganda Road Chief Magistrates court and charged with torture, they were later released on bail.

Speaking during a workshop for Regional Police Commanders at Police headquarters on Thursday, Police Director in charge of Human Rights and Legal Services, AIGP Erasmus Twaruhukwa said government was sued for violating Byamukama’s rights in a civil suit, adding that having realized there was so much evidence against them, the matter was settled out of court.

“We decided to settle the matter out of court. We settled to pay shs1.4 billion. In that case, everything(evidence) was on social media and if we had allowed the case to go on(in court), we knew we were not likely to win. We would be made to pay shs8 billion that they(Byamukama) had asked for,”AIGP Twaruhukwa said.

“We decided to settle the matter out and paid shs1.4 billion. It(shs1.4bn) might look as much money but it is not, compared to the shs8 billion they had requested for.”

The Police director however warned that there are many cases that can be mitigated against by police, adding that this can be done when officers stick to what the Police Act and the Constitution provide.

“We need to have a situation where there is no torture and no detention beyond 48 hours.”

He added warned, “A police officer who makes government loses money, should have action taken against them. These cases happen because people commit crimes with impunity and know the Attorney general will deal with them. The involved officer should pay a percentage of the award and maybe we shall learn to do the right thing.”