The lawsuit was filed by three Rwandans accompanied by their lawyer Richard Mugisha yesterday at the branch of East African Court of Justice based in Kimihurura, Kigali city.
The complainants include Ezechiel Muhawenimana, 36, and his wife, Esperance Dusabimana who spent nine months in Uganda’s prison where the woman who was pregnant at the time of arrest delivered a baby.
The family hailing from Ngororero district requested USD $ 100,000 compensation for illegal detention and false accusations of illegal crossing of the border.
Muhawenimana and his wife were arrested in July last year on the way to attend the burial of a relative in Uganda.
The family filed the lawsuit along with Venant Hakolimana from Ngororero district who requested USD $ 1 million compensation for torture inflicted on him in Uganda.
Speaking to the media after filing the lawsuit, Richard Mugisha, the defense lawyer of the three Rwandans said that five more Rwandans tortured in Uganda have contacted him for legal assistance.
Mugisha said it is sad that his clients were tortured in a member state of East African Community and expressed optimism to get justice from the court.
“We trust the court to act within its mandate. EAC founders knew there might be problems and established the court to handle emerging issues. We believe in the court’s fairness while solving this issue,” he said.
Mugisha who was the Chairperson of East Africa Lawyers Association revealed he is representing these torture victims for free on request of Rwanda’s Lawyers Association.
Uganda has been deporting different Rwandans who accuse it of inhumane imprisonment and torture on false accusations by Uganda’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence and rebel groups against the Government of Rwanda.
Last week, more 20 Rwandans were deported from Uganda after spending sometime in the country’s prisons.
A total of 900 Rwandans are reportedly detained in Uganda as at the end of March 2019.
This saw the Government of Rwanda advising Rwandans not to travel to Uganda for their security until the situation gets back to normal.
It has been two years since Rwanda, Uganda relations worsened.
Rwanda expressed concerns over Rwandans who travel to Uganda for business purposes but are abducted, imprisoned and tortured accused of being Rwanda’s spies.
Rwanda also accuses Uganda of conspiracy with rebel groups intending to destabilize state security.
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