IX. CMI response to reports of torture and detention by JATT
Human Rights Watch maintained dialogue with chief of military intelligence Brig. James Mugira throughout the research for this report, in letters, email and in an in-person interview. [218] The brigadier said that, s ince taking over the role of chief of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) in August 2008, he has implemented a new process of "screening" the arrest and detentions of people by JATT. He said he receives regular reports of who is arrested, by whom and when, especially because of the "financial implications." He said that JATT's focus will remain on terrorism and treason cases, but that JATT is not a court of law and that if he intends that someone be prosecuted, the person will be passed on to the police. He reported that he intends to "polish up" JATT operations, but didn't specify what changes would take place.
Mugira said that JATT was necessary because of the threat posed by the ADF and by Al-Qaeda, which no single agency could deal with. These groups, he argued, "change tactics, call for jihad, mobilize in the mosques and move between Kampala and Congo." This demanded that the police, the military, ISO and ESO work together. [219]
Human Rights Watch raised the substance of this report with the brigadier. He acknowledged that suspects were being detained longer than the legal maximum 48 hour period, arguing that the 48-hour time frame in which an individual can be held without charge under the Ugandan constitution is not realistic. He said that "trained rebels" needed to be interrogated longer than 48 hours. [220] He also referred to efforts in Britain to extend the time in which terrorism suspects can be held without charge, as an example of another country having the same problem. [221]
When asked about one specific recent set of arrests in which five people were held by JATT for several weeks without charge, he said that though the suspects were not initially cooperative, "after some time, they talked." He acknowledged that some suspects are held longer than the constitutional limit, but said that he believed the time frame was more like one week and that several months was "too long." Regarding the detention in ungazetted locations, specifically the JATT facility in Kololo, the brigadier said that "high profile" people are brought to Kololo and that these people must be separated from common criminals and that there should be a special detention place for them. He said that those JATT is still holding are people that they are "still interested in." However, he maintained that Kololo was not "outside the law."
The CMI chief rejected outright that some detainees had been held in incommunicado detention in Kololo. He said that family members who want to see someone detained in Kololo should come to see him via an appointment made with his military assistant or they should contact their parliamentarian. He said that visits could take place, but only with his staff present. However, family members of former Kololo detainees interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that military and civilian authorities had refused to provide information regarding the whereabouts of missing members of their family. [222] None of the twenty-five former detainees said that they had a visit from a family member while in detention.
Mugira also said that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had had access to the Kololo facility, but according to ICRC, it did not visit detainees in Kololo in 2007 or 2008. [223]
The brigadier said that he would investigate all allegations of mistreatment of detainees by his staff and that there would be individual criminal responsibility for torture. He acknowledged that interrogations could be "harsh, such as denying sleep" but said that torture did not take place. When asked about deaths in custody by JATT, he said that "nobody can torture someone to death under this government." However, when queried about the well-known case of Patrick Mamenero who died in CMI custody in 2002, Brig. Mugira did say he was aware of that case.[224]
The CMI chief said that the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel provide training for his staff both overseas and in Uganda. He reported, for example, that Maj. Benson Mande, the current director of counter-terrorism at JATT, had been trained by the United States and South Africa. [225]
Brig. Mugira denied Human Rights Watch's request to visit JATT in Kololo, but agreed to continue dialogue on allegations of abuse. He said that it might be possible to close Kololo and referenced that the United States had recently announced the closing of the detention facilities at Guantanamo.
Human Rights Watch provided the chief with the names of five people who we believe are currently in JATT custody and have been held for over six months. Though Mugira had stated in a November 3, 2008 letter that these individuals were in police custody, Human Rights Watch has been unable to locate them there. Mugira promised to follow up on the exact whereabouts of these individuals but his office has not responded to attempts to secure this information to date. Those individuals whose whereabouts are still unknown are:
1. Hamuza Mwebe – detained on or around May 28, 2008.
2. Abdurahmann Kijjambu – detained on or around July 12, 2008.
3. Ismail Kambaale – detained on or around July 13, 2008.
4. Sekulima Muhammad – detained on or around May 8, 2008.
5. Abdul Hamiid Mugera – first detained by the military in Kisaasi for three to six months and transferred to JATT in March 2008.
Human Rights Watch considers these individuals to be victims of enforced disappearance.
[218]Human Rights Watch interview with Brig. Mugira, Kampala, January 24, 2009.
[219] Ibid.
[220]This echoes recent statements by the Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, who in February 2009 argued before Parliament to extend the 48-hour limit. He claimed that 48 hours is not enough for the police to carry out meaningful investigations and be able to arraign a suspect before court. According to parliament records, this issue has been debated several times. For example, in 2002, then-Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs Adolf Mwesige said that he "would not recommend that we should extend the 48-hour rule to 96 hours, because originally it used to be 24 hours…. [The time period was] doubled to 48 hours, but the question of detaining people illegally beyond 48 hours has remained. So, increasing the hours may not solve the problem. I think Government needs to impress it upon the bodies responsible for implementing this rule to honour it. Uganda is not the only jurisdiction which is following this rule. There are many common law jurisdictions where this rule applies, like in Zambia and other countries. People are really charged in court within these hours in many countries, and I think we can do it." See The Daily Hansard of the Parliament of Uganda, December 11, 2002.
[221]For an analysis of the problematic counterterrorism policies in the UK, see Human Rights Watch, "Hearts and Minds: Putting Human Rights at the Center of United Kingdom Counterterrorism Policy" June 20, 2007. Available at http://hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/uk0607/.
[222] Human Rights Watch interview with M.T., August 14, 2008.
[223] Human Rights Watch phone interview with ICRC, Kampala, February 24, 2009.
[224]For more on the killing of Patrick Mamenero and the Human Rights Watch investigation into his death, see Human Rights Watch, State of Pain, vol. 16, No. 4, March 2004, p. 32.
[225] Human Rights Watch contacted representatives of the United States both via phone and email to confirm this, but there was no response to the request for confirmation.