Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Police Force has refuted allegations that Kampala Metropolitan CID Commander Joel Ntabu was involved in torturing and threatening suspects arrested during recent anti-corruption protests. On Monday, Luke Owoyesigyire, Deputy Police Spokesperson for Kampala Metropolitan, dismissed the claims as unfounded.
Owoyesigyire clarified that Ntabu’s role is limited to supervising case files to ensure they are processed and sanctioned by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Ntabu does not conduct interrogations or interviews with suspects.
“He never does interviews or interrogations on suspects but his work is specifically supervising case files. You can come out with your evidence if you have it, but we can’t rely on tweets to say he did this or that,” Owoyesigyire stated.
The police have urged those making allegations against Ntabu to provide concrete evidence rather than relying on social media claims. “I will advise the alleged victims to go to CID headquarters or the Uganda Human Rights Commission and make a formal complaint. We shall investigate our officer thoroughly if he participated in any wrongful acts,” Owoyesigyire added.
The controversy arose after at least 100 youths were arrested for participating in a march to Parliament protesting against corruption. Some of the suspects, who have since been released on bail, have accused police officers, particularly Ntabu, of supervising their torture.
Several alleged victims have reported physical assaults, claiming they were slapped and beaten by police officers under Ntabu’s command. One individual recounted an incident on social media where an officer slapped him and broke his glasses while he was asking about the charges against him.
The Uganda Human Rights Commission and other human rights agencies have previously reported that the Police and Army are among the biggest violators of human rights in the country, often citing such incidents in their annual reports.
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