MUSEVENI | TORTURE | ISO 

BULIISA - The Internal Security Organisation (ISO) has no business arresting suspects, President Yoweri Museveni has said, clarifying that arresting is the role of the Police. 

Museveni, who was speaking during the pass out of 62 External Security Organisation (ESO) trainees at the Marine Training College in Butiaba, Wantembo Barracks in Buliisa district, noted that ISO’s role is to investigate and inform the Police. 

“When we came into the system, we ensured that there is a gombolola internal security officer (GISO) at the sub-county. With that GISO, there should be no corruption in Uganda,” a statement from State House quoted Museveni as saying. 

Museveni pointed out that ISO should be dealing with political subversion like sectarianism, terrorism and hate speech. 

The President, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), said Uganda will develop very fast if all security agencies play their role correctly in fighting crime to ensure peace and stability of the nation. 

The role of ISO he added, is, therefore, to detect people who are dangerous, deal with internal crimes, political subversion, corruption and armed terrorism. 

However, ISO has for years been renowned for arresting and detaining suspects in their safe houses. 

Museveni further said: “So, if each one does his or her work, your country will develop very fast. Therefore, you should audit whatever you are doing.” 

Background  

The President’s remarks come against a background of reports of torture of civilians by intelligence personnel. 

In September 2020 Members of Parliament were blocked from accessing a safe house in Kyengera, which was allegedly being used by the ISO as a ‘torture chamber’ for those believed to have committed crimes. 

Museveni has previously warned security personnel against torturing suspects to extract statements. 

During the 11th Tarehe Sita thanksgiving breakfast ceremony at the Kololo, Museveni reassured Ugandans that he would get to the bottom of the issue and resolve the matter once and for all. 

“I have heard people talk about torture. I know about this whole issue. I have written about it and will put out a document and share it with the bishops and everybody because I know what the problem is. It will be solved,” Museveni said. 

His message of assurance came after Bishop Joshua Lwere, the general overseer of the Alliance of Pentecostal and Evangelicals in Uganda, raised concern over what he described as a current trend of torture that is tainting the image of the armed forces. 

The President saluted the 62 ESO trainees who successfully completed a 10-month training course. 

“I welcome you to ESO, the external wing of the intelligence services,” Museveni said. 

He noted that the work of defending and developing the country is well laid out and that if everybody plays their part, the country will develop very fast. 

On the role of ESO, Museveni highlighted the role of Uganda’s embassies and foreign missions and said their work is aimed at attracting investors to Uganda, getting markets for products and attracting tourists to visit Uganda. 

He said that on top of monitoring the above duties done by ambassadors, ESO is mandated to monitor security threats and terrorism and monitor the diaspora to defuse the negative attitude and encourage positive ideas among Ugandans abroad. 

He noted that there are many Ugandans who fled into exile during former president Idi Amin’s time, who have children in the diaspora, and that these do not know what is going on back home. 

“Find them and teach them about the development back home. They do not know,” Museveni observed. 

The President promised to write a detailed brief about division of labour among security agencies “so that everybody is clear on what he or she is supposed to contribute.” 

The President also briefed ESO staff on ideological commitment, technical competence and discipline while executing their duties. 

“Because indiscipline not only takes away your time but also it interferes with your health which is an instrument of the struggle. If you are healthy, there is nothing you cannot do,” he said. 

Museveni commended the ESO leadership for recruiting professionals to deal with modern security threats. ESO is headed by Ambassador Joseph Ocwet. 

“You should determine the methods to use; human and technical but all the time bearing security in mind. Whatever method you use, Uganda should be secure,” he stressed. 

Security minister, ESO boss speak  

Earlier, the Minister for Security, Maj. Gen. (rtd) Jim Muhwezi, thanked UPDF for working closely with other security agencies to ensure security. “Today all security agencies in Uganda work very harmoniously which is very important for the security of the country,” Muhwezi said. 

The ESO director general (Ocwet) thanked the President for improving the welfare of ESO staff which has also led to more developments abroad, up from 12 officers in only 12 missions in 2015, to 36 officers today. 

“Today, we have deployed 36 officers in strategic foreign missions but not in all of them yet. In 2015, we had deployed our officers in only 20 border stations and field stations but now our officers are posted in over 50 of those stations,” Ocwet said. 

The process of training intelligence officers and in particular inculcating youth civilians in the intelligence culture, he said, is not an event but a long tedious journey. 

“It requires hard work, dedication, commitment, sacrifice, obedience and trust. These virtues are the ingredients of the sum of intelligence discipline,” he said, warning that indiscipline will not be condoned in ESO. The trainees acquired skills in fieldcraft, leadership, political education, counterintelligence, and military law. 

ESO is established by an Act of Parliament, the Security Organisations Act 1987, with a mandate to collect, analyse and process information related to external security threats to Uganda with the objective of informing national policy makers.

Security experts weigh in 

Security analyst Charles Rwomushana said the Police is procedurally supposed to lead operations when carrying out arrests. 

“ISO is supposed to lead in intelligence gathering,” he noted. Circumstances where ISO can arrest, Rwomushana stated, should only emerge if the director general is satisfied that any delay to effect an arrest might jeopardise an intelligence operation. 

But even after carrying out the arrest, Rwomushana said the ISO director general should inform the President within 24 hours of the arrest, adding that arrests should be done by the Police because they are the agency tasked with carrying out investigations for prosecution purposes. 

“If for instance there is a robbery, ISO should find out the motive of the robbers, whether they have a motive of looking for money to overthrow the Government, which is a crime against the state. But the robbers should be arrested by the Police,” he said. 

But Caleb Aluk, a security analyst with Mesh Security, said stopping ISO from arresting requires amending the legal regime since even civilians are by law allowed to arrest. 

“The President’s directive is law, but the Constitution allows even civilians to carry out arrests and hand over suspects to the Police. I think the issue is with detention. ISO should be allowed to arrest, but hand over the suspects to the police for detention purposes,” he observed. 

Aluk noted that unless the legal regime is amended to stop security agencies and civilians from arresting suspects, the law allows ISO to carry out arrests, adding that “if private security firms can also arrest suspects, why not ISO?”