Man lashed 300 times discharged from hospital

AGAGO - A 38-year-old man who was hospitalized after being lashed 300 times on the orders of a clan leader in Agago district has been discharged.

Bodo Quinto, who resides in Wipolo sub-ward in Paimol sub-county, had to be admitted at Kalongo Hospital following the caning.

It was a form of punishment delivered by local leader Gaetano Okumu.

But as a result, Okumu and his colleagues were remanded in Kitgum government prison after being charged with attempted murder, according to Human Rights Focus (HURIFO) legal advisor Tamar Jackline.

"All we do as HURIFO - Human Rights Focus - is we preach that torture is unconstitutional and illegal," she said.

"They [local leaders] should respect people's rights if the constitution says all people are equal before the law. So we believe that nobody is above the constitution. We believe that the clan leaders are also not above the constitution. They ought to abide by that."