‘UHRC Has Right To Visit Prisoners’

Dec 11, 2002

THE legal officer of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, Soroti branch, Bernard Mugisha, has said the commission will sue prison warders who block the commission from visiting prisoners.

By Kenneth Otim
THE legal officer of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, Soroti branch, Bernard Mugisha, has said the commission will sue prison warders who block the commission from visiting prisoners.
He said the UHRC had the right to visit prisons, barracks and the Police cells to ensure that the rights of criminals are not violated.
“If you stop a commissioner from visiting the prisons, you would have committed an offence of contempt of court” he said.
Mugisha said this during a workshop for prison warders at regional offices in Soroti on Tuesday.
“We are going to give surprise visits to prisons and see how warders treat the prisoners,” he said.
He said warders who torture prisoners would be required to compensate them.
The warders blamed the commission for prioritising the rights of prisoners and neglecting the welfare of the barracks. Ends

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