Inmates accuse warders of torture

Mar 21, 2010

INMATES of Kirinya Remand Prison in Jinja have complained of being tortured by prison warders.

By Donald Kiirya

INMATES of Kirinya Remand Prison in Jinja have complained of being tortured by prison warders.

The inmates told the Prisons commissioner general, Dr. Johnson Byabashaija, that their human rights were being violated and they had sustained injuries.

Byabashaija visited the prison while on a tour of south-eastern region prisons, to asses issues that affect inmates and the staff in the Prisons service.

Waiswa Okong, an inmate, said prison warders tortured them in isolated cells.

“I have witnessed four inmates being tortured by a warder. Surprisingly, other inmates were accused of the torture and taken to Jinja High Court,” Okong said.

He added that he once saw a prison warder step on and break one of the inmate’s toes because he had refused to dig after his case was dismissed. He was supposed to be released that day.

Okong cited another incident where a warder slapped an inmate, injuring his ear, which is still oozing pus.

The officer in charge of Kirinya prison, Elly Tumuramye, said the incident was recorded in the prison’s occurrences book and a case opened at Jinja Police Station. Investigations are still going on, he said.

Byabashaija later met the prison staff, whom he warned against torturing inmates.

“I want to regret those incidences as head of the Prisons service and assure you that where an inmate’s rights are violated, especially those which cause injury or even death, the law will invariably take its course,” he said.

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