In January 2001, Ronald Twinomugisha, a resident of Kasara village, Kagongo Parish in Ibanda district was sentenced by a Mbarara Court to 12 months in prison for battering his wife. He protested his arrest and sentencing. According to him, it was his right to beat his wife when she went astray. Two months into his sentence, Ronald thought of escaping.
In April 2001, Twinomugisha and some other inmates were taken to work on a nearby farm. He, together with two others had planned to use this chance and escape. Unfortunately for Twinomugisha, his colleagues decided otherwise on the last minute.
While others were busy working in the garden, he took off. The prison guards pursued him. The chase was fast and furious as the prisoner avoided footpaths and roads and ran through the bush. The villagers were called in to help and within an hour, Twinomugisha was pulled out of a thicket.
When they got him back to the prison, he was beaten mercilessly. The prison officer-in-charge ordered his fellow inmates to cane him. On May 10, Ronald attempted to escape again. This time he managed to keep away from the locals and guards for four hours. And once again, the same prison warders, Kasapuri and Ibrahim Baguma with the help of the locals, got him out of a swamp.
The officer-in-charge was incensed. He ordered the inmates leaders known as Katikiros to beat Twinomugisha up in full view of the rest of the inmates. “This is what will happen to any of you if and when you try to escape,†he said. Moments later, the OC picked a hoe stick and joined in the beating. He later used a slasher and wounded him with deep cuts on his legs and thighs.
On May 24, 2001, the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) inspectors on an impromptu but routine inspection exercise visited Nyabuhikye Prison and found Twinomugisha in a terrible condition. His legs had begun rotting; he was very dirty having soiled himself. They photographed him and ordered him removed and taken to hospital. They also demanded an explanation and a report as to why Twinomugisha was in that condition. He was taken to Nyabuhikye health centre. The prison authority was asked to pay Shs150, 000 for his treatment of which the UHRC contributed Shs50, 000.
Ronald lodged a complaint with the UHRC in Mbarara. The human rights commission tribunal listened to the testimonies of five witnesses. Twinomugisha recounted how he tried to escape and was captured twice and how he was beaten by the OC.
“He picked a hoe stick and hit me. He then picked a slasher. I didn’t think he would actually use it on me, but he did. The next day, with my injuries, I was forced to go to the farm to dig. I was in pain and I collapsed,†said Twinomugisha, “a few days afterwards, two warders came to my cell in the night. They told my fellow inmates to carry me out quickly. I was taken to an area of the prison I never knew existed. They locked me up there for two days until I was found by the inspectors.â€
Another witness, Jennifer Kabalyaba testified in support of Twinomugisha. “The OC told the Katikiros to get canes and beat Ronald. He later took a slasher and personally used it to hit Ronald’s legs. The man bled so much but he was forced to dig the next day until he collapsed,†said Kabalyaba, a female warder at the prison.
Another witness, a former inmate at Nyabuhikye told the tribunal that he participated in the beating of Twinomugisha. “The OC ordered us to cane Ronald. He later said we didn’t know how to beat and he picked a slasher and cut his legs. This kind of beating was common especially when an inmate tried to escape. The OC would do it personally.â€
The respondent denied the charges. Through a representative from the Attorney General’s office, the Nyabuhikye prison authority said the complainant was beaten by fellow inmates and not prisons staff. But the tribunal was convinced that the respondent was directly responsible for Ronald Twinomugisha’s injuries. The tribunal questioned the prison administration’s tactic of hiding a weak Twinomugisha in what looked like an attempt to hide him from UHRC inspectors.
On September 26, 2006 the tribunal under Commissioner Veronica Eragu Bichetero ordered the government to pay Ronald Twinomugisha a compensation of Shs 4.5million. Twinomugisha has not yet received this compensation.
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