Court summons Ugandan officials over LGBT+ youth torture
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Kampala — A town mayor and senior prison official in Uganda have been summoned to appear before a criminal court over allegations of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment against a group of LGBT+ youth, the victims’ lawyers said on Friday.
The court’s move is seen as a positive step in the East African nation, where gay sex carries a life sentence and homophobia and the persecution of LGBT+ people is widespread, yet rarely punished.
“It sends a clear message that courts are willing to stand up for victims of torture, even where the police is reluctant to act,” said Adrian Jjuuko, executive director of Human Rights Awareness and Prevention Forum (HRAPF), a legal charity representing the victims.
“The summons also send a clear message that torture is no longer something you do ... You torture someone, you answer to criminal charges yourself.”
The case dates back to March when Ugandan police raided a shelter on the outskirts of Kampala, charging 20 LGBT+ youth with disobeying rules on social-distancing and risking the spread of Covid-19. The arrests sparked widespread criticism from LGBT+ rights groups, which said authorities in Uganda are using the virus restrictions to target LGBT+ people.
Witnesses and the victims say Hajji Abdul Kiyimba, chair of Kyengera town council, beat members of the group and bound them with rope before marching them barefoot to a nearby police station as onlookers jeered and threatened them.
The group — 13 gay men, two bisexual men and four transgender women — were imprisoned for more than 50 days at Kitalya prison located outside Kampala where they were taunted, flogged and denied access to food and medication, said their lawyers.
Philemon Woniala, deputy officer in charge at Kitalya prison, is accused of violent acts against members of the group, including stripping one person and burning his thighs with a piece of wood, their lawyers added.
Kiyimba told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that he was not involved in any acts of violence or torture against the group.
Uganda prisons services spokesperson Frank Baine said he had “no powers to comment on court matters” regarding the case against Woniala.
The LGBT+ group were released after prosecutors withdrew the charges. Members of the group have already won a civil case against the attorney-general and commissioner general of prisons for denying them access to lawyers and were awarded 5-million Ugandan shillings ($1,365) each in damages.
The summons, ...
The court’s move is seen as a positive step in the East African nation, where gay sex carries a life sentence and homophobia and the persecution of LGBT+ people is widespread, yet rarely punished.
“It sends a clear message that courts are willing to stand up for victims of torture, even where the police is reluctant to act,” said Adrian Jjuuko, executive director of Human Rights Awareness and Prevention Forum (HRAPF), a legal charity representing the victims.
“The summons also send a clear message that torture is no longer something you do ... You torture someone, you answer to criminal charges yourself.”
The case dates back to March when Ugandan police raided a shelter on the outskirts of Kampala, charging 20 LGBT+ youth with disobeying rules on social-distancing and risking the spread of Covid-19. The arrests sparked widespread criticism from LGBT+ rights groups, which said authorities in Uganda are using the virus restrictions to target LGBT+ people.
Witnesses and the victims say Hajji Abdul Kiyimba, chair of Kyengera town council, beat members of the group and bound them with rope before marching them barefoot to a nearby police station as onlookers jeered and threatened them.
The group — 13 gay men, two bisexual men and four transgender women — were imprisoned for more than 50 days at Kitalya prison located outside Kampala where they were taunted, flogged and denied access to food and medication, said their lawyers.
Philemon Woniala, deputy officer in charge at Kitalya prison, is accused of violent acts against members of the group, including stripping one person and burning his thighs with a piece of wood, their lawyers added.
Kiyimba told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that he was not involved in any acts of violence or torture against the group.
Uganda prisons services spokesperson Frank Baine said he had “no powers to comment on court matters” regarding the case against Woniala.
The LGBT+ group were released after prosecutors withdrew the charges. Members of the group have already won a civil case against the attorney-general and commissioner general of prisons for denying them access to lawyers and were awarded 5-million Ugandan shillings ($1,365) each in damages.
The summons, ...
