KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Buganda Road Magistrate’s Court has sent to Luzira prison eight activists on for assaulting a policewoman on duty during the protest against delayed prosecution of ministers and MPs implicated in the Karamoja iron sheets scandal.
The activists who subscribe to the Revolution Against Dictatorship (RAD) and Torture Survivors Movement pressure groups were Tuesday arrested in downtown Kampala and today appeared before Grade One Magistrate Asuman Muhumuza.
They include Moses Bukenya, Nelson Ndyasiima, Sanyu Najjuma, and Sharif Kawooya. Others are Augustine Batanda, Gilbert Nayebare, Shafia Ssegawa and Teddy Ssemakula.
During their protest amid Tuesday’s heavy downpour, the group carried iron sheets demanding the government to give justice to the vulnerable people of the Karamojong sub-region who were the intended beneficiaries of the iron sheets by prosecuting the senior officials involved.
State Prosecution led by Jean Nayebare told court that on March 28, 2023, at Ben Kiwanuka Street in Kampala District, the accused persons assaulted Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Flavia Nsimenta, an officer who at that time was executing her duty.
Nayebare said investigations into the case are still ongoing and asked for an adjournment to gather more evidence against the suspects.
However, the activists through their lawyer Samuel Wanda informed the court they had been subjected to torture while in detention and as such they need medication.
Lawyer Wanda explained that the suspects told him how they sustained abdominal, chest, and back pains as a result of the beatings while in police custody for the last two days.
HW Muhumuza ordered the Uganda Prisons Services to ensure that the suspects access proper medication and adjourned the hearing of their case until April 12, 2023, as investigations continue.
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