By KT Reporter
For 40-year-old Peruth Abigaba, a businesswoman in Mbarara City Central Market, the past eleven years have been a journey of grief, unanswered questions, and determined pursuit of justice.
But Today, the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) awarded her 80 million Shillings in compensation for the death of her husband, Bernard Muhoozi, who died in police custody in 2013.
Muhoozi, a self-employed resident of Kibutama Cell in Sheema District, left behind two young children, Ansero Nuwasasira and Aginita Nasasira, whose lives were abruptly altered when their father failed to return home after reporting to Kashozi Police Post.
According to records before the Human Rights Tribunal, the saga began when Muhoozi got into a fight with the then LCI Chairperson of Kibutama Cell, Samuel Kabaranzi. Kabaranzi filed a case of assault, and police advised the men to settle the matter amicably. Muhoozi reportedly agreed to compensate Kabaranzi with 150,000 shillings, and on October 12, 2013, he delivered 100,000 shillings as part-payment.
Instead of being allowed time to clear the balance, Muhoozi was arrested and detained. Two days later, on October 14, 2013, Abigaba’s world fell apart. A family friend, David Asiimwe Mwebe, broke the news that Muhoozi had died in the police cells. His body was later delivered home in a vehicle from Sheema Police Station.
To Abigaba, “Police officers of Kashozi Police Post killed her husband,” she told the tribunal, insisting that his death was unlawful, deliberate, and a violation of his right to life. During the hearing, the Attorney General, represented by Rita Kalembe, denied liability but presented no witnesses in defence. She, however, vigorously cross-examined Abigaba and her witnesses.
The Commission noted that Muhoozi had been a healthy, active man who routinely worked and even played football. With no evidence of illness and with Muhoozi dying while in lawful custody, the burden shifted to the state to explain his death, an explanation that never came.
The tribunal pointed out that the police themselves seemed to acknowledge the gravity of the incident. After public outcry and internal review, several officers were arrested and charged with murder, including Corporal Onesfor Tumwine, SPC Richard Katambe, Ateven Natukunda, and Samuel Kabaranzi.
In their ruling, Tribunal Chairperson Justice Mariam Wangadya and members Jacklet Atuhaire Rwabukurukuru, Simeo Muwanga Nsubuga, and Shifrah Lukwago delivered a scathing assessment of the police officers’ conduct. They described the actions that led to Muhoozi’s death as cruel, barbaric, harsh, deliberate, heartless, intentional, wanton, oppressive, criminal, and unconstitutional, adding that such acts “must have no place in a civilised society.”
The Commission concluded that Muhoozi’s right to life, protected under Article 22(1) of the Constitution, had been violated and ordered the government to pay Abigaba 80 million Shillings, with 10 per cent interest per year from the date of the ruling until full payment.
The decision was delivered during ongoing tribunal sessions at UHRC’s Mbarara Regional Office, where the Chairperson and three commissioners are handling 19 human rights complaints throughout the week.
Under Article 53 of the Constitution, the Uganda Human Rights Commission has the mandate to hear, determine, and offer redress in cases of human rights violations, an authority that, for Abigaba and her children, has finally provided a measure of closure after more than a decade of pain.
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