{UAH} THE ACHOLI VIOLENCE BY AMNESTY INTERANATIONAL EYES {Part 2}

Uganda

Amnesty International was concerned

about the wide-ranging detention without

trial of alleged opponents of the government

Several hundred were detained by

the civil authorities under the Public

Order and Security Act, in many cases

without full observance of their legal

rights. Many others were detained unlawfully

by the military authorities and

reportedly tortured. Some reportedly "disappeared" in military custody

or were killed. Amnesty International was also concerned about reports

of extrajudicial executions of civilians by soldiers and about the use of

the death penalty.

President Milton Obote's government continued to face armed

opposition in central and northwestern Uganda from the National

Resistance Army, Uganda Freedom Movement and Uganda National

Rescue Front Many unarmed civilians were allegedly killed by the

army but the government denied these allegations. Amnesty International

also received reports of killings by opposition guerrilla organizations.

As a result of the insecurity and violence, several thousand people fled to

neighbouring countries. Some 150,000 other people were placed in

"displaced persons" camps under army control where many were

reportedly ill-treated by soldiers. In April, Amnesty International published the correspondence with

the government that followed a mission to Uganda in January 1982.

Amnesty International had submitted recommendations for the protection

of basic human rights but few of these recommendations appeared

to have been implemented. In particular, the government had not

initiated an independent inquiry into allegations of torture or killings and

had not taken steps to end arbitrary executions by the army.

Large numbers of people were arrested during 1983 on suspicion of

supporting armed opposition organizations. In Kampala, hundreds of

people at a time were detained in a number of panda gari ("get in the

lorry") operations, carried out by police and military officials. Although

most such detainees were believed to have been quickly released, a

considerable number were reportedly detained for further interrogation.

Several hundred people were detained under the Public Order and

Security Act, which provides for indefinite detention without charge or

trial. They were held at Luzira Upper Prison, a maximum security

prison administered by the Prison Service. On 12 August the government

acknowledged that 92 people had been detained under this act in

the first half of 1983, when it published a list of 359 people who were

still in detention following their arrest between 1979 and 1983.

Amnesty International, however, believed that the actual number of

detainees was much higher and that the government had failed to

observe the constitutional requirement that all those detained under the

act should be named in the government gazette within one month and

thereafter at six-monthly intervals. The constitution also requires that

all detentions should be reviewed within two months by an independent

Detention Review Tribunal, at which detainees may appear with legal

representation, and thereafter at six-monthly intervals. The findings of

the tribunal are not binding on the government and are not published

The tribunal reviewed a small proportion of detentions in early 1983 but

many detentions were allegedly not reviewed at all during the year.

Several prisoners detained under this act in 1983 were members of

the legally permitted opposition Democratic Party and were apparently

arrested for their non-violent political activities. Among them was the

Reverend Francis Kizito, a Roman Catholic priest from Mpigi district,

who was arrested in January and publicly accused of having visited

guerrilla camps in 1981. He was released uncharged in October.

Another prisoner who was still detained without charge at the end of

1983 was Ambrose Okullo, a former deputy Minister of Education and

an unsuccessful Democratic Party parliamentary candidate. The

government made no reply to Amnesty International's inquiries into the

grounds for his detention and about the detention of several others

whom Amnesty International believed could be prisoners of conscience.

Yoweri Kyesimira, a Democratic Party member of parliament and former university professor, was arrested on 12 March and charged

with treason for allegedly having met guerrilla leaders in 1981. By the

end of 1983 no date had been set for his trial. Amnesty International

was investigating whether he had been detained because of his nonviolent

political activities.

Amnesty International received information that large numbers of

other people were arrested by the army ostensibly for having links with

the guerrillas. Details were difficult to obtain but the organization

received information indicating that many people were held without

official acknowledgement and incommunicado in military custody,

although the army has no power in law to detain civilians. It was alleged

that people arrested by the army in the Kampala area were usually taken

initially to military interrogation offices in Nile Mansions in Kampala,

and then transferred to Makindye, Mbuya or Malire barracks in Kampala

or certain private houses in Kampala under military control. It was also

alleged that torture and ill-treatment of such detainees in military

custody were common and some were alleged to have "disappeared" in

military custody, although such reports were invariably difficult to

verify. Former detainees, including alleged torture victims, told Amnesty

International that other detainees had been arbitrarily executed or had

died in custody as a result of torture, starvation or the denial of medical

treatment

In July Amnesty International made urgent appeals on behalf of

Pius Kawere, a lawyer and Democratic Party member, who was held

without official acknowledgement in Mbuya barracks. He had been

arrested in Mukono on 22 April by a military intelligence officer. He

was released in August after being held in harsh conditions together with

almost 100 other civilian detainees, many of whom had been tortured.

Amnesty International made inquiries to the authorities about

several other prisoners who were reportedly tortured while in military

custody. Amnesty International later learned of the transfer of some of

the detainees to detention in civil custody and the release of certain

others, reportedly after their relatives had paid bribes to military

officials. A number, however, were feared to have "disappeared". In

one case documented by Amnesty International, Patrick Kibaalya, a

primary school headmaster in Jinja, was arrested by soldiers on 20

February in Jinja, and then "disappeared". It was later learned that he

had been taken to Katabi military barracks in Entebbe and tortured so

severely that he died two days later.

Amnesty International was also investigating allegations of illegal

detentions and torture by officials of the National Security Agency, an

intelligence unit, and by officers of the Special Force, a para-military

police unit

Amnesty International expressed concern about the continued detention without trial of several people who were arrested in 1981 and

1982. They included Ben Riling. a Democratic Party supporter and

businessperson in Tororo, and Silver Tibihika, an army lieutenant.

Amnesty International repeated its calls for thorough investigations into

the "disappearance" of several people arrested by the army in 1981,

including Beatrice Kemigisha, a Makerere University lecturer, and

Constantin Kabazaire, a former magistrate. The government continued

to deny that they had been arrested. In March, Amnesty International

received some information from the Minister of Internal Affairs

concerning prisoners about whom it had inquired in 1982, but its

request for clarification in a number of cases, and further investigations

into -disappearances" received no response.

In January 200 detainees were released from Luzira Upper Prison.

They were believed to have included some political detainees as well as

some of the 60 or more former soldiers of ex- President Amin's army

who had been detained without trial since 1979. In October the

government announced the release of 2,100 prisoners in an amnesty to

mark the 20th anniversary of Uganda's independence. The government

did not disclose details of those released, most of whom were apparently

convicted criminal prisoners, although some had been detained under

the Public Order and Security Act and had been the subject of inquiries

by Amnesty International. At the end of 1983 several hundred

detainees were still believed to be held in Luzira Upper Prison.

Amnesty International received allegations of torture throughout

1983 of detainees held in military custody. The allegations were made

by detainees who survived and were later released, detainees' relatives,

and others. Detainees interrogated in Nile Mansions military offices

were reportedly stripped naked and severely beaten with sticks and gun

butts, and given little or no food for days at a time. Particularly severe

torture reportedly occurred at Makindye and Kireka barracks. Detainees

in Makindye barracks were said to be subjected to beatings and assaults

with bayonets, some being shot in the limbs. Many allegedly died as a

result of torture, starvation or being shot. Torture methods reported in

Kireka barracks included burning sensitive parts of the body, beatings

and shootings. Reports of torture were also received in respect of

military detention centres in other parts of the country, for example in

Bombo, Tororo and Mpigi. People held at local administrative centres

in Luwero and Mpigi districts were also reportedly tortured. Amnesty

International inquired about a number of such cases in 1983 but

received no replies from the authorities.

Prison conditions for those held in military custody after interrogation

were also said to be harsh. Detainees were held incommunicado in

dirty, overcrowded cells. They were given very little food and were

denied medical treatment. Prison conditions for political detainees held in civil custody by the

police or prison service -- including those held in Luzira Upper Prison -

were believed to be much better in comparison.

Numerous reports were received of the arbitrary and illegal killing of

civilians by military personnel, both in areas of military activity against

the guerrillas and in urban and rural areas outside any area of armed

conflict The government maintained that it investigated any cases of

abuse of power by soldiers but few soldiers were known to have been

charged with offences of violence against civilians. In one case, a soldier

was charged with the murder of an opposition member of parliament,

Africano Ssembattya, on 2 October, but the circumstances of the

incident were not known to Amnesty International and the trial had not

started by the end of the year. Deaths of non-combatant civilians

allegedly at the hands of the military were rarely investigated by the

police and no inquests were known to have been held in such cases.

Political killings by opposition guerrilla organizations were also

reported. Allegations that specific killings were committed either by

government or by anti-government forces were generally difficult to

corroborate. The absence of detailed accounts of the incidents from

official sources or eye-witnesses, as well as the high level of insecurity in

the areas where the killings occurred, contributed to the difficulties

Amnesty International faced in seeking to attribute responsibility for the

killings.

In Kikyusa village in Bulemezi county in Luwero district, up to 100

people were killed in a "displaced persons" camp at the end of May.

The government blamed the killings on opposition guerrillas wearing

army uniform, but other sources alleged that the perpetrators were in

fact government soldiers. Despite international concern about this

incident, no independent inquiry was known to have been initiated by

the government In August a government spokesperson admitted in

parliament that the killing of 30 people in Ssonde and Jinja villages in

Mukono District on 18 March by men in army uniform had been carried

out by soldiers, although the government had earlier blamed the killings

on guerrilla opponents. He stated that the kMings were a "mistake" but

Amnesty International has no knowledge of any further investigation

into the incident or of any action taken against those responsible. In

September, over 60 people arrested in Mpigi West district and held in

Mpigi prison were reportedly taken out by soldiers and killed nearby.

The government did not reply to Amnesty International's inquiries

about the incident.

Amnesty International received information that some 23 prisoners

were awaiting execution in Luzira Upper Prison in March. They were

all reported to have been convicted of murder and armed robbery and

sentenced to death since 1979. It was not known how many death

sentences were imposed in 1983 or whether any executions were

carried out.

 

EM

On the 49^th Parallel          

                 Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
                    Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika machafuko"