Violence Against Women
Police has sanctioned an internal investigation of its officers who were involved in FDC's Ingrid Turinawe's arrest last Friday over alleged sexual assault.
The leader of the women's league in FDC allegedly had her breasts "pinched and fondled" by police officers who apprehended her on her way to an opposition rally at Nansana.
"We normally have our own footages of operations like the one involving Ingrid last week. An investigation has already been sanctioned and it will be concluded very soon.
"Any officer deemed to have committed errors will face punitive measures," Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson, Ibin Ssenkumbi told New Vision online on Monday.
This development has come on the backdrop of a petition by civil society leaders to the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga over what they have deemed a "systematic attempt by the State to use sexual assault as a political weapon."
In their plea, civil society leaders under their umbrella, Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform, want Parliament to challenge all manifest acts of brutality by men and women in uniform and to use Ingrid's arrest as a catalyst to "speed up the enactment of the Anti-Torture Bill, review the public order management Bill" and all other Bills attendant to prevention of abuse of human rights.
"We met the Speaker this morning over the increasing incidents of police brutality and she has promised that Parliament will confer over it," Bishop Dr.Zac Niringiye told journalists at Makerere University on Monday.
Fida's Irene Ovonji Odida and Crispy Kaheru of the Citizens' Coalition for Electoral Democracy demanded that the police officer who fondled Ingrid's breasts during her arrest be held personally responsible for an act they dubbed "criminal."
"I am appalled that a government that has over the years prided itself in encouraging women to participate in politics can condone sexual assault against women leaders.
"Even if someone is in breach of the law, lifting her legs, pinching and fondling her breasts has nothing to do with arresting such a person. It amounts to sexual assault and its criminal," Ovonji said.
The civil society leaders demanded that the police officer in question be identified, tried and dismissed from service.
They also appealed to Police to show restraint in dealing with citizens involved in lawful protests and also demanded that police offers an unreserved apology "for the humiliating and shameful display of sexual assault and molestation of a woman before the nation."
Before the opposition pressure group, A4C was banned by the Attorney General early this month, Ingrid had always been locked in confrontations with police over organizing protest rallies.