The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) has met a setback after eight of its officials have been found guilty by the High Court in Kampala of torturing journalists and violating press freedom.
The courts’ decision against the said officers who included LT. COL. NAMANYA NAPOLEONE, CAPT. JESSY ODWENYI, L/CPL ZIRIMENYA KASSIM, CPL. NIMUSIIMA JUSTINE, PTE WASSWA PETER, PTE TSAME IMRAN, PTE KISAKYE VICTORIA and PTE OPIYO ISAAC, arise out of the petition filed by the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) in February 2021 with 2 of her members Timothy Murungi and Henry Sekanjako, both journalists with the New Vision, challenging their clobbering by the said officers when they were covering an NUP president Bobi Wines’s courtesy visit story to the defunct UN Human Rights
office in Kololo to report cases of disappearing NUP party supporters, which amounted to the total violation of press freedom and their right to a dignified treatment under the Constitution.
The petition which saw the 8 individual military officers jointly sued with the Attorney General (AG) and the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) was filed through lawyers; Lester Kaganzi of M/s Kaganzi & Co. Advocates, Michael Owiny and Isaac Ernest Muwanga of M/s Ochieng Associated Advocates & Solicitors for the three applicants, while Franklin Uwizera a State Attorney from the AG Chambers and Col. Moses Wandera who deputizes the UPDF chief of legal services represented the 10 respondents.
However, the respondents opposed the application through an affidavit in reply deposed by Col. Wandera, arguing that the application was defective on account of the 1st applicant’s (UJA) lack of a representative order or a formal resolution to institute the suit on behalf of other individuals.
The UPDF legal chief also defended the accused soldiers, saying they were not engaged in any systematic assault of journalists as it was alleged.
But in his Wednesday 13th November 2024 ruling, the High Court Civil Division judge Boniface Wamala observed that the conduct by the security personnel presented an attack on the applicants’ freedom of the press and media and constituted a violation of the applicants’ right to practice their profession as journalists.
“The 2nd and 3rd applicants led evidence showing that they were assaulted and sustained bodily injuries while they were covering news stories and taking photographs in the course of their business as journalists. This evidence was not rebutted by the respondents and has been found by the Court to be credible” justice Wamala ruled.
The judge also over ruled the respondent’s submission that UJA lacked the locus to represent the two beaten journalists when it lacked a formal resolution to institute the suit on their behalf, noting that It was clearly within her rights to bring the present action; which is properly before the Court. “Similarly, the 1st applicant did not need to be a natural person to commence the present proceedings.”
Relying upon the evidence presented before it, Court further established that the security officers that included the 4th to 10th respondents, under the command of the 3 rd respondent, (Lt. Col. Napoleon Namanya) intentionally inflicted physical pain upon the 2nd and 3rd applicants.
“It is ascertainable from the present facts that the purpose of infliction of such pain was to intimidate or coerce the said applicants or any other persons to refrain from doing coverage of the occasion taking place at the UN Human Rights Office. “justice Wamala emphasized.
The judge went ahead to note that the adduced evidence by the applicants placed the acts by the security officers within the ambit of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment in accordance with the provision under Section 2(1), (2) and (3) of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act.
It is against the above that he ordered all the respondents except the CDF to compensate Murungi and Sekanjako with a payment of UGX 75,000,000/= (Uganda Shillings Seventy-Five Million Only) as general damages to each one of them for the pain that was inflicted on them.
By exonerating the CDF, the judge noted that it was not clear in which capacity he had been sued since the said office is not a legal personality and no office holder was identified and linked to the impugned conduct.
The 9 respondents with exclusion of the CDF were also ordered to Pay the application’s costs to UJA and the two other applicants.
UJA Welcomes the Court Outcome.
The Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) Secretary General Emmanuel Kirunda welcomed the Court decision saying it was timely.
Kirunda who described the decision as landmark to shaping the Uganda’s press freedom enjoyment saluted justice Wamala for objectively administering justice for the entire media fraternity.
He thanked the UJA’s internal and external partners including among others, Media Defence International for passionately standing out to defend press freedom. The UJA Secretary General further thanked God and UJA legal teams for enabling journalists to have relief from the age long un abated impunity on Journalists.