The Superintendent of Uganda Prisons John Byabashaija has defended the decision to admit five murder suspects to Kitalya prison in worrying health conditions.
The five suspects who are suspected to have been involved in the assassination attempt on Works Minister, General Katumba Wamala, which killed his daughter Brenda Nantongo and driver Haruna Kayondo, told Nakawa Court last week that they tortured in police detention.
The suspects seized the opportunity, during a court break, to show marks of beatings on their backs, legs, feet, hands and bottoms to the media.
Against that backdrop, renowned human rights defender and lawyer Nicholas Opiyo engaged the Prions’ Commissioner General whether his administration had not violated the law by incarcerating tortured suspects
Opiyo quoted section 58 (3) of the Prisons Act, 2006, which states that a prison officer shall not admit a prisoner to their facility if the person is ‘severely tortured and is in a bad health condition’.
“The question then is why did John Byabashaija admit these Katumba murder suspects to Kitaylya Prison? Why?” Opiyo tagged Byabashajia on Twitter.
Byabashaija responded saying a decision must be taken even if it’s a wrong one.
“The Officer in Charge has to take a decision on this. It’s his Prison. Even if he took a wrong one,” he said.
Byabashaija reminded the lawyer that lives were lost, blood shed, in this case.
“People lost lives here. Buried,” he tweeted.
The suspects wept inconsolably on Thursday when they appeared before chief magistrate Douglas Singiza at the Nakawa court in Kampala.
Speaking before the court, their lawyer Geoffrey Turyamusiima’s asked for their release in order to secure treatment.
However, Mr Singiza informed Mr Turyamusiima that he had no jurisdiction to make such orders other than remanding the suspects and ordering prison authorities at Kitalya to make sure they get examined and treated.
The five – Muhammad Kagugube, Siriman Kisambira, Abudallah-Aziz Ramadhan Dunku, Kamada Walusimbi and Habib Ramadhan Marjan – are now remanded at Kitalya government prison.
They are facing terrorism, murder and attempted murder charges.
In 2017, President Yoweri Museveni warned security agencies against using torturous mechanisms to extract information from suspects.