Ex-Convict Sues Gov't Over Prison Murders
Former death row convict, Yahaya Lukwago has taken government to court over torture and murder of inmates.
Lukwago has through his lawyer Ladislaus Rwakafuzi asked court that an inquiry be made into the death of the two inmates at Kirinya Prison in Jinja district.
In the case which has been registered under case number is 72/2014, Lukwago wants the police warders who were involved in the alleged torturing killing of inmates to be pay for their crimes.
He is also seeking compensation for the permanent injuries he suffered as a result of the torture.
Lukwago upon his release in June after serving over fourteen years in jail, he hasn't looked behind in his fight for justice of inmates.
He first appeared on NTV, where he narrated the tortures that inmates are subjected to by prison warders during their stay in prison.
He says that at one time when in Kirinya prison, one of their colleague; became critically ill but the warders ignored him and didn't give him any medication.
"When we complained about this, we were tortured and two of my colleagues; Abdukarim and Felix Aroronga ended up dying."
He added that they were later secretly burried and non of their relatives upto date know where they were burried.
He further added that during his 14 year stay in prison, he witnessed over 9 of his colleagues die due to torture.
"When inmates are killed, disclosed Lukwago, prison warders connive with the Police to forge death certificates with false details about the cause of death, before secretly burying of the bodies."
Lukwago was arrested in 2000 over aggravated robbery and convicted in 2003. He was sentenced to death and sent to Luzira. He and his accomplices later appealed against the sentence and on May 29, 2008, his accomplices were acquitted.
He spent 12 years in prison, before his case was reviewed and his sentence reduced to two-and-a-half years.
The review of Lukwago's case followed the 2009 famous Supreme Court ruling on the Constitutional Court petition filed by Susan Kigula and 417 convicts on death row in which they challenged the constitutionality of the death sentence.
The Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was no longer mandatory, but it did not stop courts from imposing it. After the ruling, the High Court revisited many of the sentences of convicts in the condemned section, including that of Lukwago.
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