Africa-Press – Uganda. The head of the High Court Civil Division in Kampala, Justice Musa Ssekaana, has refused to step down from a case involving Deputy Speaker Anita Among regarding alleged torture.
This follows a request by one of the parties in the case, Mr Francis Matovu, alias Butto, who had asked the judge to step down, claiming he will not get justice as the judge is a friend to one of the parties.
However, Justice Ssekaana said he took judicial oath to be impartial and that if he delivers his decision and a given party is dissatisfied, there are avenues of appealing before a higher court (Court of Appeal).
“In my court I do not recuse. I uphold the judicial oath I took. We do not invite parties to come to court, litigants do not choose who they want to be in their case, we determine cases on facts not sentiments or emotions,” Justice Ssekaana ruled yesterday.
Mr Matovu filed the case last month claiming that he was arrested by uniformed security personnel on Speke Road in Kampala on November 9, 2021, on the orders of Ms Among and driven to Mbuya Army Barracks.
“……Upon arrival at Mbuya military barracks, I was informed that I had been arrested for the offence of offensive communication contrary to the Computer Misuse Act, 2011, following a complaint which had been lodged by the first respondent (Ms Among) at CID headquarters in Kibuli,” Mr Matovu states in court documents.
“Throughout my detention period from November 9 to November 11, I was not set free nor produced before any court of law and neither was I allowed to inform my next of kin about my arrest,” he adds.
He further claims in his law suit to have been forcefully grabbed, assaulted and had his pockets searched by the officers.
Mr Matovu is one of the two men who were last month arrested by security personnel and charged in connection with tarnishing the name of Ms Among via social media.
His co-accused is Mr Moses Bigirwa of opposition National Unity Platform party (NUP).
Mr Matovu contends that he has since incurred a lot of expenses in medical treatment and is now seeking to be awarded damages worth Shs500m.
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