Freedom after five months in a police cell
Posted: 16 December 2014
Mohammed was arrested and detained at Jinja Road Police Station following a terrorist attack in Kampala, Uganda. He was later transferred to the elite Rapid Response Unit (RRU), for interrogation for 2 days. He was kept in cells for five months without being produced before a Magistrate's court. Yet Ugandan law states that suspects must be brought to court within 48 hours of arrest. During this time he had no access to his relatives or a lawyer.
Shrouded in darkness, at the point of committing suicide, a helpless and distressed Mohammed was encountered by Priscilla Ekirya, one of the paralegals employed by Uganda Christian Lawyers' Fraternity. She offered counseling services, contacted his relatives and followed up the matter with Senior Police officers and the Uganda Human Rights Commission where his file was subsequently produced.
