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April 3, 2014

General Kale Kayihura
Inspector General of the Uganda Police
Uganda Police Force
P.O. Box 6329
Kampala, Uganda

Mr. Mike Chibita
Director of Public Prosecutions
Directorate of Public Prosecutions
Workers House, Plot 1 Pilkington Road
Kampala, Uganda

Dear General Kayihura and Mr. Chibita,

I hope this letter finds you well. It was a pleasure to discuss a range of human rights issues with both of you in person in February. As always, Human Rights Watch appreciates your willingness to engage with us on pending legal cases of mutual concern.

I write to raise concerns regarding the August 2010 killing of Frank Ssekanjako (case number AA106/2010 and police number Kabalagala CRB 3075/2010) and the lack of progress on the part of the police and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions in taking the case forward to trial. We previously raised this case with your offices in 2010, 2011, and 2012, but apparently there has been no change in the status of the case.

We understand that the case came up for mention before His Worship Aanyu Morgan at Makindye court on February 10, 2014, and was adjourned to April 10, 2014, because, according to those who were in court that day, investigations are still not complete. Given that this killing occurred in August 2010 the delay in trial is hard to understand.

In August 2010 Ssekanjako, a 22-year-old robbery suspect from Wakiso district, was brutally beaten to death, allegedly by Rapid Response Unit (RRU) officers who also tortured two other people during the same interrogation. Human Rights Watch has investigated the incident in detail, sent witnesses and victims to the State Attorney’s office, the police, and the Uganda Human Rights Commission, and tracked the case through the courts for the last three and a half years.

Given the brutality of the crimes and the lack of accountability for torture and killings committed by officers of the RRU, we urge the police and the DPP to improve coordination so that investigations can be concluded and the case can be committed to the high court for trial expeditiously. As you both know, RRU was disbanded in part due to human rights violations perpetrated by its officers, and yet justice for those cases has been both rare and ad hoc.

To summarize the relevant information, on the evening of Friday, August 20, 2010, eyewitnesses saw police officers affiliated with Kabalagala police post arrest Ssekanjako and others for an alleged robbery. Earlier that day robbers had broken into a house in Makindye, held machetes to the guard’s neck, and allegedly stole some property and money. Local police and the local community chairman questioned several people, including Ssekanjako, who was renting a room near the crime scene. On Sunday some suspects were released on police bond. Eyewitnesses who saw Ssekanjako and his co-accused in detention that day in Kabalagala described them as being in good health and spirits and, though concerned about the allegations against them, hopeful the matter would be resolved quickly.

On August 23, two RRU officers and an RRU driver were sent to Kabalagala police station to collect two of the suspects. The RRU deputy commander then ordered the three to recover the stolen property by collecting Ssekanjako and his co-accused from police custody. The officers drove Ssekanjako and his co-accused to the location of the robbery. These RRU officers told Human Rights Watch that Ssekanjako complained of stomach pain while in the car, so they took him to the hospital where he died a few minutes later.

This explanation is inconsistent with multiple eyewitness accounts and the official postmortem report. Eyewitnesses described in stark detail how Ssekanjako and co-accused were brought back to the scene of the alleged robbery by the RRU officers and beaten severely for over an hour with plastic pipes and a large wooden club.

Eventually, Ssekanjako stopped making any noise, his eyes were wide open and he could not move or walk. Eyewitnesses said that they suspected that he was dead. This prompted one of the co-accused to admit to the robbery in order to stop the beatings. Officers dragged the suspects to the car, dropped them at Kabalagala police station to give statements, and took Ssekanjako to Mulago hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The post-mortem report indicates that Ssekanjako had “eight puncture abrasions on the right foot, six linear tramline bruising on the back associated with linear abrasions, swollen right shoulder, diffuse bruising of the right and left upper arms, three linear abrasions over the left thigh, an abrasion 4 x 1 cm over the left elbow, multiple bruising of the left flank, injuries are fresh.”

Importantly, police eventually arrested three RRU personnel, Muhammad Kavuma, Ramhadhan Dhikusoka, and Hussein Dhikusoka (no relation), and charged them with murder. The three spent six months in Luzira prison and are currently free, out on bail. However, police and the state attorney have yet to collect significant evidence related to the case, despite the ample time to complete such investigations. Three suspects were severely beaten that day and yet police have not helped the two survivors to complete paperwork to certify their physical state after the torture. One has never made a statement to police regarding what occurred, despite having been in police custody, and he told Human Rights Watch he feared further interaction with police because of his severe beating that day. Multiple people in the community witnessed the events that day, heard the suspects screaming, and have valuable evidence that place the RRU officers at the scene.

Ssekanjako’s family has also faced numerous challenges and intimidation stemming from their efforts to press the police to investigate and take action. On the day of Ssekanjako’s burial, police gave the family “compensation” in the form of fuel for transport of the body, 500,000 Uganda shillings (US$230) cash, and some food. Later, after family members reported the death to a newspaper, they received phone calls from police saying that Ssekanjako was a thief and that family members should not return to the police.

Police have also failed to give the family information, documents, or medical evidence related to Ssekanjako’s death. The family submitted multiple requests before receiving a copy of the post-mortem and death certificate, and has never received copies of photos that police took of his body. Police pathologists have yet to officially determine the cause of Ssekanjako’s death, and toxicology and histological tests have still not been completed because doctors at the mortuary claimed they could not afford the chemicals needed to run the tests – even though Ssekanjako’s family gave them 80,000 Uganda shillings ($40) to buy materials.

Ssekanjako’s death is unique in that his family actively pursued investigations, could afford the cost of the logistics to follow the matter up, and complained to journalists and officials, despite multiple obstacles. The case, if well-handled, could be among the first in which RRU officers are ultimately held accountable for murder of a suspect, which could be a potential deterrent to others in the police force. If poorly handled, this case might well discourage victims of crime from coming forward and further embolden police tempted to abuse those in their custody.

The case has been before Makindye Magistrate Court for over three years now and is still not committed to the High Court for trial. For your information, we understand that the state attorneys assigned to the case are Ann Ntimba and Morine Agaba. There is a lack of clarity among court officials and police as to the reasons for the ongoing delays in the investigation. We urge you to ensure that the case moves forward so it can be heard with the best possible evidence before the high court without any further delay.

We would also urge the police and the DPP to work together on robust investigations into the multiple allegations of abuses by Rapid Response Unit, and its predecessor units, the Violent Crimes Crack Unit and Operation Wembley so that human rights abusers within the police are removed and face criminal sanction for their actions.

We look forward to hearing from you about this case.

Sincerely,

Maria Burnett
Senior Researcher
Africa Division
 

Cc:
Honorable Medi Kaggwa, Chairman, Uganda Human Rights Commission, Kampala, Uganda
Honorable Peter Nyombi, Attorney General, Kampala, Uganda
Honorable Kahinda Otafiire, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Kampala, Uganda
Mr. Erasmus Twaruhukwa, Human Rights Directorate, Uganda Police Force, Kampala, Uganda
High Commissioner Alison Blackburne, British High Commission, Kampala, Uganda
Ambassador Christian Schmidt, Delegation of European Union to Uganda
Ambassador Alphons Hennekens, Embassy of the Netherlands, Kampala, Uganda
Donal Cronin, Embassy of Ireland, Kampala, Uganda
Ambassador Scott DeLisi, Embassy of the United States, Kampala, Uganda
Ms. Birgit Gerstenberg, Representative, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Uganda, Kampala, Uganda
Ms. Sophie Racine, Democratic Governance Facility, Kampala, Uganda
Ambassador Urban Andersson, Embassy of Sweden

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