Changes at ISO good for human rights- Lawyers

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A section of human rights lawyers have described the dismissal of Internal Security Organisation –ISO director, Col Frank Kaka Bagyenda, as good news for the human rights fraternity.

Having served as the ISO boss for close to four years, Kaka was relieved of his duties by President Yoweri Museveni and replaced with Lt Col Charles Oluka, whom he had fired from the agency two years ago.

Human rights lawyers, Eron Kiiza and Isaac Ssemakadde said they lost count of the number of times that Kaka disregarded court orders issued to the agency he was heading. They added that the changes at ISO bring a ray of hope to human rights advocates whose efforts to rescue victims of ISO misdeeds were never respected.

“He has been disrespectful to court orders. The incoming director must be cooperative and respectful to the rule of law. The country can develop by having respect for human rights and rule of law,” Kiiza said.

Kaka was appointed ISO director replacing Brig Ronnie Balya in January 2017. His contract expired close to a year ago but President Yoweri Museveni reportedly kept him in the office at the time that the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence –CMI and Special Forces Command- SFC were investigating the agency.

In July this year, SFC and CMI raided ISO safe houses in Kyengera, Wakiso and Kisaasi near Bahai Temple, in Kampala. In the raid, several soldiers and operatives who were found at the safe houses were arrested in a gunfire exchange that rocked the areas in wee hours of the night.

The CMI-SFC raid reportedly came after ISO kidnapped a university student. It was not clear whether the student was rescued or not. In a nutshell, ISO was often in the news for kidnapping people, torturing suspects but also its operatives were accused of engaging in armed robberies.

One particular incident that left the country stunned about ISO’s conduct involved a bullion van that was trailed from Kayunga district. Bullets were exchanged at Kyambogo in an incident ISO claimed was intended to save 2.4 billion Shillings that was being targeted by thugs. It was later discovered that close to 700 million Shillings was lost in the process.

Shockingly, one of the two people killed in the exchange, Bright Turyatunga, was an ISO agent who had deserted SFC. Kaka and his team allegedly presented concocted intelligence reports to President Museveni including a report on the murder of former police spokesperson AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi.

Lawyer Ssemakadde thinks Kaka was given a job he did not clearly understand. He adds that Kaka would long have been prosecuted but he was doing everything with impunity because he enjoyed state protection.

“You see, the state will predictably shield its thug Kaka from any institutional probe meaning that any justice pathway for the victims of his atrocities must be privately funded. His boss, the Security Minister General Elly Tumwine exonerated him already in very vivid public declarations of support,” Ssemakadde said.

Soon after the news of Kaka’s sacking became public, Lawyer Nicholas Opio, took to his twitter indicating that his firing can be meaningful only if he is prosecuted for all his atrocities.

******

URN