Torturing Soldiers Most Reprehensible
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The Monitor (Kampala)
April 22, 2004
Posted to the web April 22, 2004
Kampala
On April 16, the Administrative Officer of the army's 2 Division, Maj. Charles
Tebarura had his bodyguard tied to the back of his pick-up truck and dragged along the
ground.
The bodyguard, Obedi Kiiza is in a Mbarara hospital nursing extensive trauma.
One blood-curdling fact is that quite an amount of flesh was torn off Kiiza's body as
he was dragged, screaming in pain.
The other painful fact is that an officer of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC)
office in Mbarara tried to block the exposing of this heinous crime!
It is almost incredible that a man is currently confined to a hospital bed in critical
condition because of the animal behaviour of a superior officer and a public servant,
who is supposed to defend the human rights of this man, is conspiring to thwart the
course of justice.
If this is not a new depth, then what is?
The army repeatedly denies allegations that it tolerates torture even when the stories
coming out of many barracks' Quarter Guards is that soldiers under punishment go
through some horrifying experiences. Kiiza is the perfect test case for the army.
The public waits to see if the full force of military justice shall be brought to bear
on Maj. Tebarura. He has shamed the officer corps of the national army and brought the
uniform into disrepute.
While we wait to see what happens, it is appalling that Army General headquarters'
staff knew about this despicable incident and yet never pressured its subordinate
division to take action.
It is things like this that cripple morale in the forces. The army simply cannot
afford to forget that the key element of the country's defence posture is manpower.
The moment you lose control over the human factor even the best equipment money can
buy is of no use anymore.
Relevant Links
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Humanitarian Abuses and Civilians
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It may be true that there is a stated policy prohibiting the mistreatment of
subordinate personnel by ranking men and women, however it is only after matters on
the ground begin to reflect that reality that the force will shed its image as
something of a torture chamber.
We hope and pray that Kiiza recovers from his injuries to have his day in court.
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