The prisons self-righteousness and arrogance in their reaction to the torture of Mr Godfrey Dhikusooka is inappropriate. Their denial of responsibility in the face of glaring evidence of torture and la belling of the victim as mentally unstable is irresponsible.

Whether Mr Dhikusooka was tortured by, or on the orders of a prison warder, or by fellow inmates is no excuse for allowing such vile acts to occur under their nose. It is the responsibility of the authorities to ensure the safety and security of inmates and they should take responsibility for any failure to provide a secure abode to inmates.

There is plenty of evidence in the reports of the Uganda Human Rights Commission and other human rights bodies to suggest that torture is still being used with impunity not only in prisons, but also in other detention centres. This impunity is encouraged not by the unwillingness of the authorities to appropriately punish perpetrators of this vile act, but rather by the absence of a legal framework that provides a punishment that is commensurate to the offence of torture.

The only punishment that can be meted by such authorities is a fine, or at worse, a dismissal from service. In any case, the individuals do not care because the responsibility in a civil suit will be borne by the Attorney General.

Unfortunately, the acts of torture are not committed in detention centres only. Private individuals who wield power have equally committed this vice with wanton abandon. Their victims wallow in pain if they are lucky to live another day. As we can glean from history, cases of torture tend to be widely spread during electoral periods.

The need to enact a specific penal law on torture that provides for the criminal offence of torture and stipulates appropriate punishment has never been any stronger as we approach elections and still see cases like that of Mr Dhikusooka.

It is not only our moral duty but also a legal obligation under the UN Convention on Torture, Cruel, Inhuman, Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Constitutional provision for prohibition of torture and making it a non-derogable right does not go far enough in providing an enforceable right. It needs to be re-enforced by an enforceable penal provision

Individual perpetrators should not be given the option to hide behind the Attorney General but rather made individually cranially and civilly liable for their illegal acts. The government has paid enough awards for crimes of its irresponsible officers and this should end now because we need this sort of money to help of ailing socials sector.

I look to the days when the likes of Mr Dhikusooka can file criminal and civil cases against the individuals who visit upon them acts of disrespect and affront to their human dignity. This will go along way in providing avenues of redress to victims of torture and save the government millions of shillings that is being paid as awards to victims. Such a law would also give hope in any sort of investigations as there would be a legal regime under which perpetrators can be appropriately punished.

I do also think that the detention centres should revise their modus operandi of handling people they hold in their custody. To this end, an investigation into the Kirinya incident should be one that will provide an independent report, but also recommend future steps in avoiding the occurrence of such incidences not only in Kirinya but in all detention other centres.

Mr Opio is an advocate and a member of the Coalition Against Torture