XIII. Annex
Letter from Human Rights Watch to CMI
Brigadier James Mugira
Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence
Kitante Road
Kampala
Uganda
October 20, 2008
Dear Brigadier Mugira,
We are writing to follow up on your recent meeting with our colleague Anneke Van Woudenberg on September 3. As you know, Human Rights Watch and the late Brigadier Noble Mayombo met and corresponded regularly while he was at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) and we look forward to establishing such a dialogue with you as well. We seek a response to the queries in this letter so that your views can be reflected in a forthcoming Human Rights Watch report on detention issues in Uganda.
Human Rights Watch has documented numerous cases of arbitrary detention by government security forces, including CMI and the Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce (JATT). According to accounts we have gathered over several years, individuals have been detained in army barracks in different parts of the country and at CMI headquarters, and most frequently ending up in a residential compound that serves as the headquarters of JATT in Kololo. Detainees have been held beyond the time permitted under the constitution and often in overcrowded, unsanitary cells. Some former detainees report having been beaten and tortured during interrogations. According to many accounts, the members of these security forces wear civilian clothes with no identifying insignia.
Your response to the following inquiries would be greatly appreciated.
I. Please provide us with information about the legal status of JATT, its command structure, mandate, legal powers and its relation to the CMI, the police and any other security forces in Uganda.
II. Please provide documentation of any JATT or CMI personnel who have been tried by any Ugandan courts or administratively sanctioned for violations of Ugandan law. Are JATT personnel suspected of committing violations of the law tried by the civilian courts or by courts martial?
III. Please provide us with information regarding training provided to CMI and JATT personnel on interrogation methods, including the provider and funder of such trainings.
IV. Please provide us with information as to trainings that CMI and JATT personnel have received on intelligence and interrogations techniques, the content of those trainings and who funded and conducted those trainings.
V. Our recent research indicates that certain specified persons were present when detainees were mistreated. Please confirm which of the following individuals are employed by JATT or CMI, their unit if any, and the superior officer to whom they report:
1. Lt. John Mwesigwa
2. Private Mushabe
3. Lt. Assimwe Semakula
4. 2nd Lt Barigye alias Cool Namara
5. Robert Namara
6. Mucunguzi Abdul Azziz Alias Mucunguzi Deo
7. Lt. Sendi Yahya
8. Sankara Alias Amiir
9. Kigoonya Siraje
IV.According to our information as of September 10, 2008, the following 16 people were last seen in the custody of JATT or CMI officers. Their current whereabouts are unknown. None are known to have been taken to a police station or charged with any crime. According to our information, some of these individuals were being held in the JATT offices on Kololo Hill Road.
Please provide us information on the whereabouts, legal status and health of these persons:
1. Higenyi Sadala - arrested in 2006 in Mubende and kept in a military barracks for one year and nine months. He was transferred to JATT in Kololo on May 28, 2008.
2. Hamuza Mwebe – arrested on or around May 28, 2008 and held at JATT in Kololo.
3. Tezitta Moses – arrested in June 2008 and allegedly very badly beaten at CMI offices on Kitante Rd.
4. Adamdini Byekwaso from Iganga – brought to JATT on or around April 4, 2008.
5. Jamiiru Bomboka – detained by JATT on or around June 30, 2008.
6. Abdurahmann Kijjambu – detained on or around July 12, 2008. He was allegedly tortured very badly and needs medical treatment urgently.
7. Ismail Kambaale – detained on or around July 13, 2008.
8. Sekulima Muhammad – detained on or around May 8, 2008.
9. Adinaan Zubair – spent between three to six months in a house in Kisaasi and was transferred to JATT in July or August 2008.
10. Abbas Karule – detained on or around December 6, 2007.
11. Abdul Hamiid Mugera – first detained in Kisaasi for three to six months and was transferred to JATT in March 2008.
12. Adamdiin Mukalazi – detained at JATT since June 2008.
13. Kuluthum (female) – from Naalya, Kabembe, detained at JATT since July 2008.
14. Saidi Lutaaya – arrested on November 21, 2007 and detained at JATT.
15. Siraje Nshimiirwe – arrested in March 2008.
16. Irumba (last name unknown) – arrested in January 2008 and detained at JATT.
We hope to hear back from you by November 5, 2008, so that we can include your perspective in our forthcoming report. Please email any response to burnetm@hrw.org or via fax to +44 (0)20 7713 1800.
We appreciate your attention to these important matters.
Yours sincerely,
Georgette Gagnon
Africa Director
Human Rights Watch
CC:
Hon. Dr. Edward Kiddu Makubuya Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and Attorney General Parliament Avenue P.O.Box 7183 Kampala, Uganda
Mr. Charles Ssentongo Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM)
Embassy of the Republic of Uganda 5911 16th Street, NW, Washington DC 20011
Letter from CMI to HRW
