IPC women case file forwarded to Judges

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Registrar of the Court of Appeal has forwarded the file in which women opposition members under the Interparty Cooperation (IPC), challenged police brutality when they demonstrated against the Electoral Commission in 2010.

The group petitioned the High Court accusing the police officers; Immaculate Mabuya and Gladys Acen, together with other Police officers under the joint command, orders, control, direction, supervision or administration of Grace Turyagumanawe, Moses Kafeero, and Grace Akullo, of violent and brutal arrest, assault, and torture during a protest in which they were demanding the disbandment of the Electoral Commission.

The women include Ingrid Turinawe, the Secretary for Mobilization in the Forum for Democratic Change-FDC, Night Asara Eyoru, Catherine Ddembe, Lillian Masia, Aidah Namukwaya, Nasuna Kamulali, Rachael Kalulu, and Aisha Nakilanda.

Others are Jenny Lubega, Nyakato Rusoke, Sarah Nagwangara, Phiona Arinaitwe, Theopista Musitwa, Olive Nasuna, Winnie Mubangizi, Harriet Nakamya, the current RDC Serere, the late Joy Naisikwe, Fugge Rehema and Fatuma Nyangoma.

They asked the court to declare that the police officers are unfit to hold offices in the Uganda Police Force or any other public office. They also asked that the officers forfeit salaries and allowances earned from the time of committing the acts in question until the date of the final judgment.

Further, they asked the court to declare that the acts of the police officers amount to incompetence and constitute unprofessional, undisciplined conduct unbefitting of a member of the Uganda Police Force.

But the High Court ruled that the women should have sued the Attorney General and not individual police officers. Dissatisfied with the ruling the women appealed.

On Thursday, the Court of Appeal Registrar Lillian Buchyana closed the file and submitted it to the Judges for further management without submissions from the women activists.

Buchyana explained that she had previously given instructions in the case but they were consistently not complied with.

Turinawe had earlier told the court that their lawyers had successfully drafted the documents but she did not know why they were not filed.

The activists had appeared in court without their lawyers. The Attorney General was also not represented.

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