The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) Tribunal has awarded Ugx 70 million in compensation to 15 victims who were allegedly tortured by security agencies in the Teso, Sebei, and Bugisu subregions.
The tribunal announced the compensation during a session held at the commission’s regional offices in Soroti on June 25, 2024, chaired by, Mariam Fauzat Wangadya, the commission’s chairperson.
While briefing journalists, Ida Nakiganda, the Director of Complaints, Investigations, and Legal Services at UHRC, stated that the categories of cases include violations of the right to personal liberty, the right to be free from torture, and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.
According to Nakiganda, the victims were tortured by police officers, Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers, and Uganda Prison Service officers between the years of 2007 and 2011.
“There are cases in which the attorney general dismissed the complainants because they lost interest, while others departed from the pleadings and testimony,” Nakiganda said.
She appealed to the respective institutions to speed up the process of paying the victims to reduce the wastage of time and resources chasing for payment.
During the release of the 26th annual report on torture, the UHRC observed an increase in registered cases of torture, with statistics indicating that 103 cases were registered in 2018, 394 in 2019, 104 in 2020, 166 in 2021, 136 in 2022, and 150 cases in 2023.
The Human Rights Tribunal started by handling 50 cases in Kampala and continued to Gulu on February 14, 2023; Moroto, and now Soroti in eastern Uganda.
Nakiganda urged the general public to utilise the commission offices situated across the country to report complaints of human rights violations for appropriate redress.
