Thread by @sasmvn

THREAD ON TORTURE VICTIM #MwesigwaEric

On 14th Feb 2023, as a lawyer with @NUP_Ug, I accompanied Eric to the Uganda Human Rights Commission to formally lodge his complaint of abduction and torture. We arrived at the Commission at 11AM, and stayed there until about 06:00PM. 1/19

For over 6 hours, I sat next to Eric as he narrated in Luganda his ordeal to the UHRC officer assigned to record his complaint. Contrary to our earlier skepticism, the UHRC officer turned out to be an empathetic, meticulous lady who REALLY cared to do her job well. 2/19

For the entire time we were there, I never complained of hunger or how tired I was or how the process had dragged because I wanted to make sure that Eric's complaint was captured with as much detail and precision as he narrated it. 3/19

I wanted to ensure that his story didn't get lost in translation, or in the convenience of "getting the job done as quickly as possible". I wanted him to understand and know that the Party, NUP, was there for him and was prepared to go all the way in defence & pursuit ... 4/19

... of his right to dignity and justice as a human being.

Most importantly, I was patient because of a mantra I hold: that whenever I have to do work related to the struggle, I should either do it to the best of my ability or not do it at all. 5/19

I hold that mantra because I know that in case the worst happened to me due to what I do in the struggle, only the knowledge that I was suffering for having done my best would make the pain worth it. People trust us because they believe that we are genuine and that ... 6/19

...we mean the promises we make in the struggle, so we owe it to them to vindicate that trust by doing the best we can to honour our commitments.

Anyway, once the UHRC lady was done recording Eric's statement in English, towards 5PM, she gave it to me to read and translate 7/19

... for him into Luganda every sentence in it. She wanted him to confirm that he understood and stood by the contents of what he was about to sign as his complaint. The complaint is seventeen (17) pages long. 8/19

It contained a part where, upon being asked whether he knew or could guess who tortured him, he responded that "they must have been Museveni’s men because they were armed". It also contained a part where he said that during interrogation, his captors asked him what ... 9/19

...his Party President @HEBobiwine's next plans were. He said that it was when he pleaded ignorance of the plans that they brought a hot object and pressed it onto his chest! He broke down at this point as he recounted the pain, & then thanked God for having saved his life. 10/19

If my memory serves me well, it was around this same point inside the UHRC office that Eric's daughter, about 3 yrs old, reached out and handed to him a red, heart-shaped stick-candy sweet to comfort him. The following day, I accompanied Eric to Kabalagala Pol. Station... 11/19

... so that he could open a similar case. Along the way, he worryingly asked me whether he was safe going to Police and I responded that we had no choice, anyway. He then told me that some of his friends were calling asking him to leave NUP because of the risks involved. 12/19

I responded to him that if we all paid a lot of attention to the risks we face daily, none of us would be in the struggle by now so it's best to focus on the bigger picture and leave our worries to God. 13/19

Later as we returned from Police, he told to me that when he went missing, one of his friends (also a comrade in the struggle) had gone around saying that Eric had 'faked' his abduction; and that that same friend had - out of guilt - not bothered to visit him ... 14/19

... at hospital when he resurfaced with the torture wounds. Eric said he felt a lot of respect for his wife because she had believed in him from the onset and had done everything possible to trace him and publicise his case when his friends seemed to have abandoned him. 15/19

What I cannot reconcile now is the reality that it is that same Eric who is now alleging, without any shame, that it is NUP that abducted, tortured and detained him for nearly 2 weeks! 16/19

He claims we promised him UGX 50M as part of a scheme to taint the image of dictator Museveni’s regime, an image already soiled beyond repair! Greed or threat, I am uncertain of what might have steered Eric onto his current path of deceit. 17/19

What I am certain of, however, is that I will sleep peacefully tonight knowing that we were there when Eric needed a comrade to stand by him. And we shall still be there when, God Forbid, another torture victim surfaces. 18/19

About-turns like Eric's could demotivate us but they certainly do not invalidate our struggle. If anything, they only serve to remind us of the urgency of the task at hand. #WeAreRemovingaDictator! 19/19