The Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force (JATT), an Ugandan security institution established in 1999, has been accused of kidnap and torture of the members of the National Unity Platform (NUP).
Composed of officers from the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF), police, and the intelligence, JATT operates under the wing of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).
While originally founded to fight rebel groups like the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), JATT operations have broadened and led to sweeping accusations of abuse of human rights.
JATT agents were reported to make regular arrests dressed in civilian attire, in unmarked vehicles, and detain them in unauthorized locations, including their headquarters in Kampala’s Kololo. Detainees have reported prolonged periods of incommunicado detention and sheer torture during interrogation.
Methods reported include object beatings, stress positions, and chili pepper on sensitive parts. Such methods have been reported by organizations like Human Rights Watch, which, in a 2009 report, outlined over 100 cases of illegal detention by JATT, in which most of the detainees were tortured.
The National Unity Platform, led by Robert Kyagulanyi (popularly known as Bobi Wine), has always reported instances of their members being kidnapped and tortured by security officials suspected to be collaborating with JATT.
Such serious allegations have been dismissed by the Ugandan government in most instances as propaganda. In other instances, officials have claimed that images of people being tortured are fabricated to promote negative emotions towards security institutions.
