Court Ruling States Detention of Suspects at CMI is Unlawful

The High Court in Kampala has ruled that the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, which has since changed its name to Defense Intelligence and Security-DIS is not a legal detention facility. 

Judge Richard Wejuli Wabwire of the International Crimes Division of the High Court ruled that detaining suspects at CMI is illegal as it’s not a place authorised by law. This is contained in a ruling arising from an application by six suspects accused of the offences of terrorist financing and belonging or professing to belong ot a terrorist organization. The six are Walusimbi Musa, Kyeyune Isma, Mubiru Isma, Kabanda Musa, Mwebe Muhammad Ali and Kabonge Umaru Ajobe. 

In their application, the six allege that they were arrested and kept in illegal detention for more than the stipulated time under the law. 

That, during their detention, they were subjected to cruel, inhumane, degrading and torturous treatment which caused them physical and mental pain. This cruel treatment they alleged included not being informed of the reason for their arrest after being rounded up and put in a waiting “drone” car and handcuffed from behind, beaten and kicked, made to see a man being beaten to death, denied food, tied on an electric pole in a scorching sun for over eight hours, stripped naked in front of people, put in a tank of very cold water, taken in a dark room, interrogated for many hours, forced to eat pork yet they are Muslims, had metals in form of thorns tied in between their fingers, put in rooms with very smelly waters among other acts. 

Kabanda Musa also specifically told the court that security agents made threats to kill his wife and harm his baby. And for Kyeyune Isma, he told the court that he was shot in the elbow by security. All the suspects also alleged that some of these actions were done to them while they were at CMI. 

The Attorney General, the legal representative of the government in civil matters, denied these accusations. Through an affidavit sworn in by Inspector of Police Odyek Benedict, the investigative officer, the Attorney General countered that the suspects were never tortured. 

The Attorney General also produced medical reports to show that they were both in a good physical and mental state. However, the Attorney General never disputed the fact that the suspects were detained at CMI. In his ruling, Justice Wabwire noted that the rights of the accused to be detained at a lawful facility and be produced in court within the stipulated 48 hours were abused. 

“Whereas the Affidavit in reply states that the Applicants were detained at Kireka Police Detention facility, it is not denied that the Applicants were detained at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) detention facility in Mbuya, and neither does the Affidavit in reply state that the Applicants were only detained at Kireka Police Detention facility. The Applicants’ evidence that they were detained at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) detention facility in Mbuya stands uncontroverted…Premised on the foregoing, I find that the detention of the Applicants at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence…, a place not authorized by law for detention, contravened article 23(2) of The Constitution…” the court ruled. 

The court also found that the accused persons were not informed of the reasons for their arrest and were denied access ot their next of kin, legal counsel, and medical attention while they were held at CMI.  Such conduct, the judge ruled, amounted to a blatant violation of Article 23(5) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right of a detained person ot be informed promptly of the reasons for their detention and to communicate with next of kin, legal counsel, and a medical practitioner of their choice.

“The denial of these fundamental safeguards undermines the rule of law and the protections accorded to all persons under the Constitution. It reflects a serious and unjustifiable disregard for due process and the dignity of the individual. Detaining a person without access to legal representation, family, or medical care not only exacerbates the trauma of arrest but also facilitates the risk of abuse, including torture and inhuman treatment. Such actions are reprehensible and must be unequivocally condemned,” the judge ruled.  

The court also found that the government violated the accused person’s right to be produced in court not beyond 48 hours after arrest. The accused persons had spent anywhere between three to eight months before they were formally charged at Buganda Road Court. 

For these violations, the court awarded 10 million Shillings to each of the six suspects and also half of the costs of the suit. However, the judge dismissed claims that the suspects had been tortured and that their right to a fair hearing had been violated.  “The Respondent’s unrebutted evidence of medical records attesting to the fact that the Applicants were never tortured and were found to be in good mental and physical condition…in a strict sense taken as fact,” the judge ruled. 

He also noted that the claim that Kyeyune Isma had been shot was contradicted by an affidavit made by his wife, Arach Proscovia, who said he was shot while resisting arrest. The judge said the law allows for the use of reasonable force to subdue a violent suspect who tries to resist arrest.