Uganda Police has denied holding suspects in ungazzetted police stations despite facing a global backlash due to the now widely publicised torture at Nalufenya in Jinja District this year.
Recently Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) revealed its difficulty in locating safe houses used by security agencies to torture suspects.
But the Police Spokesperson has denied holding any suspects in safe houses or ungazzetted police stations.
Asan Kasingye insists that the perception of safe houses has been created, because of a break-down in communication from police.
“Am not aware of any safehouses or illegal criminals’detention centres. Most people believe that Nalufenya is an illegal detention centre but I would love to assure the country and Ugandans at large that Nalufenya is a legal Police station,” Kasingye revealed.
In his opinion, holding suspects without communicating to their loved ones has bred the perception that police is holding suspects in safe houses.
“We as Police believe that way of thinking is brought about by poor communication between Police and relatives of suspects,” Kasingye said.
This he says is being handled by timely communication to family members of arrested suspects.
TheUgandan‘s investigations show that it is hard to determine whether the such facilities like Nalufenya are under the control of the police’s Special Investigation Division (SID), Flying Squad, Special Investigation Division (SID) or the Special Forces Command (SFC), which, among other things, guards President Museveni and other key state installations.
However, what is or has been happening or allegedly happening at Nalufenya had long happened at SIU Kireka.
