Former Prime Minister John Patrick Amama Mbabazi has condemned torture and noted that it is unacceptable and goes against the laws of Uganda.
Mbabazi said this during his first media address after several years. He told members of the press that as a member of the National Resistance Movement party-NRM, one of the things they fought for was freedom of the people regardless of their opinions.
However, the former NRM Secretary General made no reference to any torture incidents, although the country recently experienced such with writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija who fled into exile after accusing security personnel of abducting and torturing him on orders of the First son and Commander of the Land Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Gen. Muhoozi has since denied the accusations and says he does not know who Kakwenza is. The author of the Greedy Barbarian and The Banana Republic; Where Writing is Treasonous, was arrested towards end of 2021, for reportedly insulting the President and the First son using his Twitter account.
Other similar incidents include those of the National Unity Platform –NUP members, including the Party coordinator for Kasese district Samuel Masereka who also accuses security personnel of abducting and taking him to an unknown destination, where he was reportedly tortured daily for 20 days before he was released.
Both Kakwenza and Masereka returned to the public with visible signs of torture.
Mbabazi who has avoided any media interviews since he lost in the 2016 Presidential elections held at a residence in Kololo, where he made it clear that torture isn't a civilized way of doing anything.
He also noted that he has heard government condemn the act and asked that the
Mbabazi is now the Chairman of the African Global Security Foundation which was launched on February 13 in Dakar, Senegal. It has been set up by the founding member states of
Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritania, Senegal, Togo, and Uganda.
He says the foundation will be giving security briefings to member states through their established organs to provide insights to help members make sense of the changes happening in the region and the world.
