By Vision Reporter
TWO policemen have been arrested over the death of a man in their custody.
Muhammad Kavuma and Ramhadhan Dhikusoka, both attached to the Rapid Response Unit, are held at Wandegeya Police Station in Kampala on the orders of Police chief Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura.
The bereaved family of 22-year-old Frank Ssekanjako, a robbery suspect, yesterday said he was tortured to death.
A builder, Ssekanjako died on Monday at Kansanga at the home of a woman only identified as Yudaya, who accused him and three others of raiding her home.
John Mugasa, who was arrested with Ssekanjako, said unidentified people broke into Yudaya’s home on Sunday night and made off with household items.
“In the morning, the chairman, Nkugwa, and Yudaya’s watchman came to our home and asked us if we knew who was responsible for the robbery,†explained Mugasa, 19, a chapatti maker.
Yudaya insisted that Ssekanjako was one of her attackers, he added. But Ssekanjako’s family said he had spent the night at his brother-in-law’s home in Makindye, a Kampala suburb.
Mugasa, Ssekanjako, Yudaya’s guard only identified as Asram and Geoffrey Nsereko were detained at Kabalagala Police Station.
Mugasa said Ssekanjako and Asram were held in a different cell. He explained that after he was released with Nsereko, he went back home.
“When I was home, I heard Asram and Ssekanjako wailing in Yudaya’s enclosure,†Mugasa said.
Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba said the men were suspected to be a part of a gang. “Ssekanjako was arrested and taken to the scene of crime but he complained of feeling sick,†Nabakooba said.
“He complained about being weak and having stomach ache but the Police ignored him since suspects often feign sickness,†she stated. “We do not condone this. The matter is being investigated,†Nabakooba said.
The Uganda Human Rights Commission has often faulted the Rapid Response Unit for violating suspects’ rights.
Early this year, policemen whipped a man to death for allegedly stealing millions of shillings from a Chinese businessman.