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Security Agencies Urged To Respect Torture Act Provisions

14 August, 2025
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Security agencies in Uganda have been urged to respect the provisions of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, 2012.


This call was made at a human rights training for Police and other actors in the justice system in Elgon Region. The five day’s training at Elgon Palace Hotel in Mbale City is being facilitated by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in collaboration with the Uganda Police Force with funding from the British High Commission of Uganda.

Josephine Akello, the Regional Human Rights Officer at Uganda Human Rights Commission’s Soroti Office says that there is need for all state actors like the Police, Military and the Prisons service to respect and implement the provisions of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, 2012. According to Akello, any state actor that engages in any acts of torture bears personal liability for his actions.

She said this includes officers taking orders from their superiors to undertake actions amounting to torture of suspects. According to section 4(2) of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, a person shall not be punished for disobeying an order to undertake actions amounting to torture, cruel or inhuman treatment.

Akello has urged the public to report any cases of torture to the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) or courts of law for redress.

Rogers Taitika the Elgon Region Police Spokesperson says that officers must desist from using coercive means like torture to extract confessions from suspects. Taitika says that investigating officers should use other professional means when interrogating suspects to generate credible evidence.

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