
“I call on Ugandans to go slow on the torture debate. I am personally going slow about it. I’m studying the circumstances to make an informed opinion on the torture. But personally I do not condone torture, we have some elements in the opposition who simply want to score political mileage by discrediting our president Museveni. They want to show him as a bad leader to the outside world” – Uganda People’s Defence Forces Spokesperson Lt. Felix Kulayigye
This shows how insincere the army and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) is as the state doesn’t want to be transparent and be held accountable for their actions. The UPDF spokesperson wants to silence and not talk about the torture cases. They want it gone away and in the dark like the ungazetted safe-houses.
The UPDF and NRM just wants to dismiss and downplay the severity of the torturing which is happening in the Republic. We know the Human Rights Reports on Torture has shown an extent of it and what the government don’t want out in public. As the UPDF Spokesperson feels this is destroying the image of Museveni.
Well, Museveni don’t need the help of the opposition to destroy his image. That his doing perfectly well… on his own and doesn’t need any help. The President and his Modus Operandi is destroying it on the regular. If people have to flee into exile, activists lingering in jail without charges or due process, safe-houses and various of security agencies delivering injustice towards the citizens. This is the destructive manner of which Museveni name is tarnished.
He cannot help himself and the UPDF spokesperson is in the wrong. Yes, the opposition will use this for political mileage. That is true, but they are doing it for the reasons of injustice and impunity of the authorities. The Security Agencies shouldn’t torture in the first place … and it has been done from the on-set of the NRA takeover in 1986. Therefore, the spokesperson should know better and we know the state haven’t changed it’s stripes.
Museveni is a bad leader and uses torture as a means to strike fear and intimidate. The President uses all the security agencies to kidnap, keeping people incommunicado and torture civilians without any due process by the courts of law. There is no equal before the law, because the civilians and dissidents are without charges or sentenced treated as criminals in these instances. Therefore, the Museveni will be remembered for this.
UPDF spokesperson cannot deny it and the reality is that the NRM haven’t fundamentally changed things, as it using the same means as its predecessors. That’s why they don’t want people to talk about it. The acts of vile force on innocent civilians should never be accepted and the outcries are righteous.
The security agencies shouldn’t do these things and the laws blocking it mute or silent ones, which isn’t in effect or used. Since, there is no real consequences to the ones ordering it and the ones actually doing it is a secret as well. The victim cannot know who they are and often these are plain clothed men who beats and uses torture techniques, which secures their faces from not being shown to the victim. Therefore, the state and the ones doing it’s bidding can get away with it.
These sorts of stories shall not be forgotten. There is unknown amount of people who has been tortured, kept in the dungeons or safe-houses, as the agencies are able to get away with these practice and it has no real consequence for the ones on top. That is the brutal truth and President Museveni name will forever be associated with this. Just like the NRA has tarnished the name of Obote and Amin for their crimes in their time. It is his turn now. Peace.

















