The Internal Security Organisation (ISO) Director General Col Frank Kaka Bagyenda has said he cannot waste his time on Members of Parliament accusing his organ of torturing victim.
“In the bush war, I was the intelligence officer of the mobile brigade that captured Kampala but I never tortured anyone. They can vilify me but I want witnesses to come and pin me on torturing them,” Kaka said in an interview this week.
“Torturing suspects is not part of our standard operating procedures and in fact, if it was so, I would have started with Sobbi(Paddy Sserunjogi).”
He further revealed that some MPs are ignorant because it is not their professional area.
“The other day they went to see safe houses, did they see them? If they had come through us, we would have shown them where they (safe houses) are.”
The Internal Security Organization said legislators are ill-informed of what happens, adding that they will always peddle baseless lies but noted that time will be the best judge.
MPs led by Latif Sebaggala (Kawempe North Division) and his Arua Municipality counterpart, Kassiano Wadri a few weeks ago raised a matter of national importance that ISO is running safe houses in un gazetted places where some Ugandans are reportedly kept and tortured. Hon. Ssebaggala and Wadri were supported by other MPs like Hon. Robert Kyagolanyi and Francis Mutebi Zaake who also seat on the Human Rights Committee of Parliament.
Col. Kaka insisted that most of the suspects who claim to have been tortured are being paraded by a section of politicians to achieve their own motives but noted that this will not derail him in ensuring security of the country.
“Some politicians (MPs) are ignorant because it is not their professional area. They therefore, should not pretend to know more than we do.”
The ISO chief admitted that the security organ operates some safe houses but noted that they are for keeping suspects safe but not torturing them.
“The other day they went to see safe houses, did they see them? If they had come through us, we would have shown them where they (safe houses) are,” Col. Kaka said.
