MP Zaake injured himself – Obiga Kania

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Government has blamed Mityana Municipality Member of Parliament Francis Zaake for injuries on his body which he says are testimony of torture inflicted on him by security officers while in detention.

Obiga Kania, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs told Parliament that it is likely that Zaake inflicted the wounds on himself since the presence of alleged torture marks are only on the front part contrary to his claims that the whole body had torture marks.

“The presence of torture marks of the body on the front part and the absence of 60 minutes that Hon. Zaake claims he spent at Chief of Military Intelligence- CMI and bearing in mind that Hon. Zaake had daggling handcuffs on his arm, it is probable that Hon. Zaake could have inflicted himself,” said Minister Kania in his statement to parliament.

The statement follows a directive by Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga to the police to account for the torture of Zaake while in police custody.

Zaake was arrested last month for allegedly distributing food to his constituents contrary to a Presidential directive that all relief food be handed to Covid-19 National Task Force.

Zaake has since been transferred from Kiruddu Hospital to Rubaga Hospital. This week Zaake alleged that he was battered, pepper sprayed directly into his eyes while in police custody.

But Kania says that according to the statement of the car commander, Zaake kept on knocking himself on the metals of the pick-up.

The Minister further says that they are yet to record a statement from Zaake’s wife who alleged that 15 million shillings were stolen by the police.

Kania also says that Police is going to get the admission medical report from Rubaga Hospital, visit his residence to determine if his bedroom was broken into and also subject him to an independent medical examination to determine his health status.

Kadaga on Thursday postponed debate on the Minister’s statement but wondered how a handcuffed person can injure himself.

Meanwhile, the Joint Security Taskforce has also refuted the torture claims by Zaake. In a statement released on Friday and signed by the Fred Enanga, the taskforce spokesperson, when Zaake learnt about his transfer to SID Kireka, he resisted leading to a struggle while being removed from the cells.

According to Enanga, Zaake held onto a metallic door and fixed one of his legs in between the bars to the cells, assisted by other suspects.

Enanga also said that it is not true that he was taken CMI.

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