Uganda: Police officers charged for ‘torturing’ women

Ten police officers in Uganda have been arrested and charged for allegedly torturing a group of women, whilst enforcing the strict lockdown currently in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The Ugandan Police Force said on Tuesday that the officers stood accused of caning 38 women, before forcing them to swim through mud, in the town of Elegu, in the north of the country.

It was confirmed the men would be held until 7 May.

Photos of the injuries sustained by the women, still wearing their mud-caked clothes, were widely circulated online over the weekend.

Police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, said the officers used a “heavy-handed approach” and that the incident was under investigation.

Last week the president, Yoweri Museveni, told the police not to arrest anyone if they were inside their own compounds.

Photo: AFP