UGANDA: Museveni finally captures the prison services

Former MP Nsubuga Kipoi

MUSEVENI FINALLY CAPTURES THE PRISON SERVICES

Last week on 17th October, 2018 a high profile treason suspect and former M.P, Kipoi was picked from Luzira prison by Military Police claiming that he was to be produced in the High court Civil Division. On October 10, Justice Sekaana ordered government to produce Kipoi in court on October 17 as his court was scheduled to pronounce itself on an application where Kipoi wanted to block his trial in the military court saying that it's illegal since he is a civilian. Kipoi is charged in the General Court Martial with six UPDF soldiers for offences related to security

However, as the High court dismissed his application on Wednesday, Kipoi was nowhere to be seen, neither did Geoffrey Atwiine, a representative of the attorney general explain to court why the applicant was not produced in court. Frank Baine, the Uganda Prison Services spokesperson on Saturday confirmed that Kipoi was picked from Luzira prison by the Military Police.

"Kipoi was picked by soldiers from Military Police who presented to us a production warrant from the General Court Martial. You know the court has discretion on where he can be remanded since it is the one trying him... He was taken back to Makindye [military barracks] but was not returned to Luzira," said Baine.

Maj John Bizimana, the registrar of the General Court Martial said he does not know the latest development.

"For us, we remanded Kipoi to Luzira prison few months ago, and we know that he is in Luzira. May be if he was remanded somewhere else by another court but not on orders of the General Court Martial," said Bizimana. 

Kipoi's Lawyer has now confirmed that Kipoi is now detained at Makindye Military Barracks.
“It is very unfortunate because he was remanded to Luzira and not Makindye. Court has never ordered that he is returned to Makindye. Military detention of civilians is illegal and I wonder who gave the orders of transferring him to military prison."

In March this year, the army court ordered for Kipoi’s transfer from Luzira to Makindye over what was termed as security reasons following a request by the army’s prosecution team. In June, the General Court Martial in Makindye ordered for the transfer of the embattled legislator from Makindye military prison to Luzira after a habeas corpus application against the Attorney General, DPP, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and the commanding officer, Makindye Military barracks in the Civil Division of the High Court had been applied for by Kipoi’s lawyer, Maj. (Rtd) Ronald Iduuli.

This ugly development confirms that it is no longer safe even when an accused is in the hands of courts of law and prison services. The monstrous Museveni regime can still access such a prisoner and subject him to any form of physical harm. The regime has finally captured the Prison Services.

Two years ago we warned over the same in the article reproduced below;

Change of Guards

Wednesday, 13 July 2016 at 11:58 

LOOMING CATASTROPHE AS MUSEVENI MOVES TO 'PROFESSIONALIZE' THE PRISON SERVICES

In his new scheme to tighten his grip on power, Museveni has been carrying out schemes to to personalize the security forces. According to him, Uganda's security forces includes the Army, the police, the prison services and the Game Rangers. He started with the army by creating an officer corps that is loyal to his son Gen. Muhoozi who commands his elite SFG that is an army within an army. Its sole objective is to ensure Museveni's stay in power. Next was the police force whereby he deployed army officers to take over command and control as he militarised the entire police force while getting rid of the people from the northern region who as had been the case with the army had dominated the force.

With the top leadership of the police now in the hands of his people from the western region, the force is now the coercive branch of his regime. Its main objective is to instill fear into the population by brutally silencing any form of political dissent. Next was the wildlife services whereby military officers were deployed to the sector as game rangers received training from military academies. As a consequence, the carnage against wildlife - flora and fauna is alarming.

Well placed army officers are the leading traffickers and illegal dealers in prohibited wildlife trophies like ivory. Over one ton of ivory was the other day stolen from the government strong room by Col. Charles Tusiime but nothing could be done to him just because he is from Museveni's home and one of the 27 men who started the war. He had been posted to the sector as in charge of security and intelligence.

After realising that the prison services play a vital role in his schemes to of suppressing political dissent through arbitrary detentions and imprisonments, he is hatching a scheme to 'professionalize' it too. However as had been the case with the army and the police, the prison services are still dominated by personnel from the so called northern region which covers eastern and West Nile regions. During the last sham and violent general elections, thousands of prison warders were part of the terror machine that was unleashed on the population. They were also part of the joint security strategies for the so called election security.

Therefore, once he succeeds in making prison a branch of the regime, then it will be total chaos. Members of the security forces and intelligence services and top regime cadres will have signed detention warrants ready to arrest and send to prison anyone they feel like imprisoning without going through courts of law. They will have powers of getting anyone from prison at any time of the day or night for torture, and forced disappearances. They will have powers to shoot and kill any prisoner under the guise of preventing an escape.

Suspected criminals will be able to bribe their way out of prison through mysterious frequent escapes and jail breaks in connivance with 'professional' prison warders. In some cases, prisoners with good political and financial connections will be able to be escorted out of prison by warders so that they spend nights and weekends at their homes. Convicted prisoners will not serve their full period of imprisonment but will instead bribe their way out after a shorter period. Prisoners on remand will be able to influence investigations of their cases through bribery, threatening of witnesses and trial judges, and destruction of evidence with the connivance of 'professional' prison warders.

Above all, Museveni is planning to build more prison facilities in remote areas of the country including islands where he can hold political dissenters with less access to their friends, relatives and human rights organisations. He has the parliament, he has the top echelons of the Judiciary, he has the army, he has the DPP, he has the Police and intelligence services; will he fail to tame the prison services into being party of the coercive arm of his brutal regime! Soon the prison services will be hit by nepotism, abuse of office, brutality, ineficiency, corruption, Katebe, infighting and all sorts of evils that have characterised the other security forces and it will be disastrous. You can imagine members of the Prison Services were the other day incorporated into a security operation to evacuate Ugandans trapped in South Sudan!!!!!!

INFORMATION IS POWER

Museveni has finally secured unlimited access to detainees and the worst is in yet to come.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM

change of guards