Journalists barred from attending MP Zaake torture case hearing
Journalists have been barred from attending hearing of the torture case filed against security personnel by Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake.
Officers from the field force unit were deployed to guard the door leading to the court hall and chambers of high court civil division Judge Esta Nambayo who was hearing this case.
After the hearing, Zaake’s lawyers from Kiiza & Mugisha Advocates confirmed that parties in this case have been directed to file written evidence and return to court on 13th January 2020 for a ruling of the court.
The individually sued officers who include Abel Kandiiho the head of Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CIM), Alex Mwiine the Mityana DPC, Elly Womanya the commandant of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) among others were represented by lawyers from the Attorney General’s office because they maintain that whatever they did was while they were on official duty though MP Zaake wants compensation from them as individuals and government.
Zaake claims that on 19th April 2020 as he was taking a shower at his upcountry home in Mityana District, a combined security detail of police and military, jumped over his wall fence and brutally arrested him.
He adds that the security detail was led by Mityana DPC Mwiine and Wamala Regional Police Commander, Bob Kagarura and despite demanding for a search warrant, the determined officers ransacked his house leading to the destruction and loss of his property before bundling him on a waiting pickup truck.
That he was then held in incommunicado, tortured and detained without trial for 10 days until 29th April at several places including Mityana Police Station, CMI headquarters in Mbuya and SIU.
As a result this caused Zaake physical and psychological pain and suffering, humiliation, loss of self-worth and threatened his life and divinity for which he is seeking damages.
Zaake was brutally arrested on allegations that he was distributing food to his electorate against a presidential directive stopping gathering in the fight against COVID-19 and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has since dropped the criminal charges against him in Mityana chief magistrates court.
