As the public awaits the trial of General Kale Kayihura who six weeks later is still uncharged for offences related to his work as the former police boss, details are now emerging on why he could be in deeper trouble.
During Kayihura’s reign, his juniors used their authority to pick different suspects across the country. Many of these men and women were never taken to police cells. They were kept in what turned out to be torture chambers.
TrumpetNews has exclusively taken pictures of one of these torture houses in Kololo. This one was used by Nixon Agasiirwe to execute his boss orders. Suspects were brought in here, and ‘milked’ to confess to various crimes.
The clean- up of the Uganda Police Force’s image has since taken centre stage. However details emerging on the gruesome activities some of the former top Police bosses were engaged in continue to shock the nation
Leading the pack among the incarcerated is notorious Nixon Agasiirwe who was the former operations boss under Kale Kayihura and charged with executing high profile missions for the ex- IGP.
Pictures of one of the ‘torture’ chambers have now emerged. The double storied house nestled in the quiet part of Kololo looks destitute with very little activity, save for lurking boda boda riders outside who confessed they always saw tinted cars emerging out the residence.
This house was used to keep all suspects picked in relation to the murder of Principal State Attorneyr Joan Kagezi who was reportedly gunned down by former police Flying Squad operative Abdu Ssemujju aka Minaana in Kiwatule in 2015, and later other suspects who were pinned for killing Andrew Felix Kaweesi.
An Investigation by TrumpetNews shows the residence is home to a high ranking officer and details about its ownership remain scanty.
It is at this ‘safe house’ that Nixon kept all the suspects for torture and eventual confession. One of suspects who was a ‘resident’ at the chambers said Nixon would come to ‘extract’ confessions and bring in more suspects. The same residence was also a ‘warehouse’ of sorts where guns, ammunition, operations’ clothings were kept.
“I was brought in blind folded the day they picked me off the streets. I was then thrown into a very dark room with only the ventilation visible. It is here that I found other suspects who like me had no idea why they had been arrested and where we were. Everyday, they would pick us, take us to a different room in which we were asked to confess to whatever crime they wanted us to agree too. In the other rooms, you would hear wails of people being tortured. It was traumatising,” said Amir Ssengendo who had been arrested and dumped in the safe house on tramped charges of murdering Kagezi.
Before the sacking of former Police Boss Kale Kayihura who is now in Military detention at Makindye, the Police force had become notorious for parading quack suspects who were later to confess they had been ‘forced’ to agree to some crimes.
Some of these suspects are the ones that had been kept at this Kololo safe house that had become chambers for keeping particular targets.
The safe house sits on nearly half an acre of prime land behind Voice of Africa Radio on Windsor Crescent. The double storied house in fading light pink color, is enclosed in a mushy line of green shrubs with a red, short gate wooden planks. It looks dilapidated. There is a separate garage, just after the entrance and another single story structure on the side.
TrumpetNews will be detailing all the safe houses used by the now incarcerated police gang across the country.