Wakilii

Ayebazibwe Brenda v Attorney General [2023] UGHRC 22

Tribunal · 2023 Complaint Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Human rights complaint alleging torture by police officers
Decision
Complaint dismissed with no liability found against the Attorney General

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Tribunal dismissed the complaint, finding no credible evidence that police officers at Kibiito Police Post tortured or beat the complainant. The complainant's testimony contained material inconsistencies regarding which body parts were allegedly beaten. The two witnesses called did not see police beat the complainant. Medical evidence was rejected as untrustworthy due to irreconcilable contradictions between two doctors' reports and the complainant's own account. The Tribunal found the complaint was not proved on the balance of probabilities and warned that cases supported by forged medical documents would attract automatic dismissal.

Outcome

Complaint dismissed with no liability found against the Attorney General

Facts

On 11 April 2011, Ayebazibwe Brenda, then 14 years old, was accused by one Judith of stealing a mobile phone. The LC.1 Chairman of Kasunganyanja village, Jaffali Kamara, together with the Defence Secretary and others, allegedly beat Ayebazibwe demanding she produce the phone. The same day, the LC.1 Chairman took her to Kibiito Police Post where she alleged three policemen severely beat her with sticks and batons to force a confession. The complaint was originally brought against both the Attorney General and Kamara; Kamara was later dropped as a respondent. Defence evidence established that Brenda had entered Judith Kamugisha's house and stolen two mobile phones belonging to Judith and Ahemigabo. One phone was recovered from Brenda. She refused to reveal the whereabouts of the second phone, which led to her being taken to the police post.

Issues

  1. Whether the Respondent's agents violated the complainant's right to freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.
  2. Whether the Respondent is vicariously liable for their actions.
  3. Whether the Complainant is entitled to redress.

Orders

  • The complaint is dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — Torture — Burden of Proof — Standard of Proof
A complainant alleging torture by state agents bears the burden of proving the allegation on the balance of probabilities.
Evidence — Credibility — Material Inconsistencies in Testimony
Where a complainant's testimony contains material inconsistencies regarding the particulars of alleged torture, including which body parts were beaten, and introduces new facts at hearing that were absent from the original complaint, such inconsistencies may lead the tribunal to reject the testimony as untrustworthy.
Evidence — Medical Evidence — Rejection for Untrustworthiness
Medical evidence will be rejected as untrustworthy where two doctors' reports contain irreconcilable contradictions regarding the location and nature of injuries, and where the injuries described do not correspond to the complainant's own account of where she was allegedly beaten.
Human Rights — Forged Medical Documents — Policy on Automatic Dismissal
By policy of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, any case supported by forged medical documents or any fake document will attract automatic dismissal, and persons involved in such practices will be held accountable by the criminal justice system.

Legislation cited (7)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Ayebazibwe Brenda v Attorney General 2023 UGHRC 22 (5 December 2023)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.