Army officer drags escort tied on car
By David Kibirige
April 21, 2004
MBARARA – The Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence is investigating a senior army officer for alleged torture. Maj. Charles M. Tebarura, the administrative officer of the Mbarara-based 2 Division, allegedly tortured his escort Obedi Kiiza.
Mr Kiiza was reportedly tied behind the major’s vehicle and dragged along the road in the division barracks on April 6. Eyewitnesses say it all started when Tebarura travelled to Kampala and left his pistol in his house in the barracks, which he occupies with a civilian relative.
When Kiiza, who stayed behind, saw the pistol, he removed it saying civilians could not be trusted with firearms. He handed the pistol back to his boss when he returned on April 6.
However, an angry Tebarura accused Kiiza of insubordination for keeping his pistol.He called two regimental police soldiers and ordered them to administer 20 strokes of the cane on Kiiza.
After the flogging, Tebarura tied Kiiza’s legs on his double cabin pick-up and ordered the driver, one Komakech, to speed off.
When Komakech refused, Tebarura allegedly cocked his pistol, pointed it at his head and threatened to shoot him if he did not follow his orders.
Komakech drove the pick-up, dragging the wailing Kiiza along the road in the barracks. Droves of soldiers witnessed the scene in horror.
Eyewitnesses say Kiiza was dragged for about 100 metres before Tebarura stopped the gruesome act. The flesh on the soldier’s buttocks and some parts of his legs was torn off.
Later, Tebarura ordered the locking up of Kiiza at the quarter guard. The soldiers manning the cells refused saying that Kiiza needed urgent medical treatment.
He was rushed to the UPDF hospital in Mbarara where medical personnel said they could not admit him for lack of facilities and that he was in a critical condition.
He was then transferred to Mbarara University Teaching Hospital, where he is still lying in pain. Concerned soldiers reported the case to police and the Uganda Human Rights Commission offices in Mbarara.
Army spokesman Shaban Bantariza told The Monitor that he was aware of the incident. “I heard about that incident; it is very unfortunate, nobody in the army has the right to torture another,” he said.
Asked why Tebarura has not been arrested, Bantariza said: “It is up to the leadership of the second division to make sure action is taken against the administrative officer.”
Tebarura refused to comment when contacted yesterday morning.
“I cannot talk to you. What you are telling me [the torture] is news to me,” he said.
Surprisingly, the UHRC in Mbarara pleaded with The Monitor not to publish the story. A woman who refused to identify herself said, “We are handling that case of Tebarura versus Kiiza. Why don’t you leave that story? We are trying to handle it ourselves.
Will you people in The Monitor compensate Kiiza? Leave the storym (” A Public Relations Officer at UHRC headquarters in Kampala said he had not been notified of the complaint but promised it would be handled properly.
“If the victim has complained to us then it is already public…,” said Mr Justus Muhanguzi. “But we shall handle it.”
The Monitor has learnt that Tebarura later tried to entice Kiiza into dropping the case.
Before his transfer to Mbarara, Tebarura was the head of the UPDF School of Political Education in Jinja.
The division intelligence officer, Capt. Makanga, is also being investigated for trying to protect Tebarura. In 1992 President Museveni ordered that no soldier had the right to beat another, after some officers were accused of torturing their juniors.
© 2004 The Monitor Publications
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In Texas people were prosecuted for crimes of hatred (?) when White men dragged a Black man on a pick-up truck. We should be similarly offended by this crime of madness -- and alarmed: the Amin days are back!
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