By our reporter
KAMPALA- The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has overtaken police in torturing Ugandans, according to the African Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (ACTV) in its latest report on torture.
During 2017-2018 period, the ACTV registered 600 cases of torture attributed to police and 443 cases committed by the army.
However in 2018-19, the bulk of the torture cases shifted to the UPDF. The latest report shows UPDF committed 440 torture cases in Karamoja Sub-region compared to 14 cases by police. However in Kampala, the police led the 263 torture charts, with 263 cases compared to the 44 cases by UPDF.
In Gulu District, police committed 154 cases and UPDF committed 75. This brings the total torture cases by the army to 559 compared to 441 by police.
“Many of the high torture cases against the army were attributed to the disarmament process which had been ongoing for over 10 years,” the report reads in part.
In previous years, the report noted that fewer cases had been reported against the UPDF because the torture rehabilitation services in Karamoja had been limited.
However, with the introduction of the torture rehabilitation services in the sub-region in the latter years of the disarmament, more cases hitherto unreported were registered.
The report further noted that punishment of suspected criminals, forced confession and intimidation jointly accounted for 63.6 per cent.
