The outspoken Priest of Kitanga Parish in the Kabale Diocese Rev. Fr. Gaetano Batanyenda has advised President Yoweri Museveni to prioritize the fight against corruption if he is to stop torture in Ugandan detention facilities.
Fr. Gaetano’s statement is in reference to the 14th August 2021 Presidential address on Security and Human rights, in which Museveni declared the government’s commitment to stopping the torture of suspects by police and other security agencies involved in criminal investigations.
In the speech that was aired live on all radio and television stations across the country, Museveni vowed to deal with any security officers involved in torturing Ugandans in the name of crime investigations.
“Beating captives is wrong. Torture, assassination, etc are used by lazy people that are not ready to do more work using the stories of criminals if they are telling lies,” said Museveni.
Fr. Gaetano says the President’s address was only focusing on the “symptoms” rather than the “cause” of torture. He noted that corruption is the source of all human rights violations in Uganda, and Museveni should use his position to stop the vice in order to reduce the number of torture victims who usually end up in prison cells after demanding for their rights.
” If you looked at all the victims of torture, you will find out that most of them were beaten for demanding their rights to live. They are demanding access to good health services, education, accommodation, jobs and the likes. That’s how they end up in torture cells,” said Fr. Gaetano.
He explained that government funds to facilitate improvement of the services mentioned above usually end in wrong hands, and instead of punishing the corrupt officials after interdiction , Museveni usually ends up re-appointing them back to government to serve in other capacities.
Fr. Gaetano also cahallenged Museveni to demonstrate his will to fight torture by bringing to justice the security officers involved in beating up Ugandans whose pictures were broadcasted on TV during the presidential address on 14th August.
”There’s a clear chain of command in both Police and the Army, and therefore the president should not give any excuse for not identifying the perpetrators,” said Fr. Gaetano.
However, Fr. Gaetano noted that Museveni took the right direction towards responsible leadership by coming out to admit that torture was one of the human rights violation activities inside Uganda’s detention facilities .
Gaetano who recently celebrated 45 years in priesthood believes Museveni’s speech was a Divine intervention after Ugandans cried to God for help.
“When I watched him speak with absolute calmness rather than his usual anger, I realized that Museveni was under the influence of the holy spirit. He looked so touched and concerned about the victims of torture, and to me, that’s a big step towards the end of human rights violation.”
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