There are moments when those who sign-off the deaths of others in the name of the state are present. Such was the testimony of Francis M. It was a death-bed testimony. The witness, apprehended on the suspicion he was a rebel, died soon after his evidence was recorded. He told of his time at Nile Mansions, now Serena Hotel and sighting of the then de-facto head of state affairs, Paulo Mwanga.
Witness: Francis M. “They came to my room..I was not allowed to dress up. Instead my pants were removed and I remained naked. I was then badly tortured including being burnt with cigarettes. When we were still at the scene of my arrest, I heard my arresters arguing in Swahili and in English the Vice President Muwanga had directed that I be taken to Kampala. I was naked up to Makindye. I was still Naked. At Nile Mansions and in between consciousness and unconsciousness I found a young brown man dressed in a doctor’s gown. He had a stethoscope in his pockets. His hands were tied and he was leaning on the wall. The soldiers were telling the doctor that he should admit he was a gureilla- the doctor refused. They brought a stool. The doctor was forced to put his chin on the stool and they brought pliers to press his lower jaw. His jaw was broken but he still denied that he was a guerilla. When he said no, a hammer was brought and his head was knocked and he died instantly. The body was removed. The place of the murder was next to Vice President Muwanga’s room. I knew it because I was next taken there. But before a small brown woman was brought and she was tortured instead of me. This was a relief to me. She was in a petticoat and pants, but no bra. She was brought into the room. Her name was Rose. They asked her whether she was a guerilla, she denied. Then a pair of scissors was brought and her breast cut. But she still refused to admit. Then a metal chair was brought then a charcoal stove was put underneath. It was being fanned electronically. She still refused. Then a bed was brought and she was laid on it. Then an iron bar was brought and pushed into her private parts. She was quiet throughout these tortures. She died and the body was put away, and they turned to me. At the time when the tortures were going on Muwanga opened the door and peeped into the room when the girl was being tortured. I had known Muwanga well. He is one of my relatives, we are from the same clan of Nyonyi Nakinsige. I was taken back to Makindye and put in a group known as guerillas. We were eleven. Our group was B.2- that was the number four room. There were dead bodies, and those dying. We found 10 bodies in the room. The live ones were living like skeletons. It is a frightening place. Faeces were on the floor. The toilet filled up, we had no water. So newcomers provided their urine for us to drink. On 28 September, 1982, Sunday at 2 pm I was released from Makindye and taken to Luzira. 36 of us were put in a bus to go to Luzira. 24 died on the way. I acquired a pair of trousers from one dead person." "Liberated" Uganda - testimonies. More soon. -- _______________________________________________ WestNileNet mailing list WestNileNet@kym.net http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. _______________________________________________
