Gulu- An inmate at Lugore Prison in Palaro Sub-county, Gulu District, is fighting for his life at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital following an alleged torture by prison wardens.
Kemis Mayanja, 39, who is serving a four-year jail sentence for theft, was reportedly tortured after speaking out on what he termed as the brutality against inmates at the prison on December 28 last year.
He is admitted to the surgical ward where he has been diagnosed with a urinary retention problem resulting from inability to pass urine through the bladder.
In an interview with Daily Monitor at the weekend, Mr Mayanja claimed he was tortured by 10 prison wardens on the orders of the deputy officer in charge of the facility.
He said when he raised concerns about brutality coupled with hard labour on the farms, it caused him trouble.
“I was later led out of the prison facility by 10 prison wardens who tied my testicles with a rope against a tree and begun beating me up indiscriminately. I was beaten for 30 minutes before being left,” Mayanja said.
He called for intervention of rights activists into his case and other inmates still suffering at the facility.
The regional health coordinator at Gulu Prison Health Centre III, who preferred anonymity, acknowledged having received Mayanja at the prison health facility late last month.
He said Mayanja was diagnosed with urinary retention problem caused by enlargement of prostate gland.
“His condition was beyond our level, so we referred him to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, where they had a minor surgery beneath his stomach to connect a tube to the bladder so as to aid urination,” he said.
The health official, however, dismissed allegations that Mayanja’s condition came as a result of torture, saying it can be caused by bacterial infection or on its own.
The northern regional prison commander, Mr Dan Okello, said they would investigate the allegations.
“At prison, we maintain zero tolerance to torture of inmates, in any case a prison warden or an administrator participated in torture, we shall find out and hold him or her responsible,” Mr Okello said.
The executive director of Human Rights Focus Uganda, Mr Francis Odongyoo, when contacted said they will launch investigations into the matter.
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com
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