Before he passed on, AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi (RIP) said lack of a definite law that protects acid victims from their attackers leaves police with no option but to use the Penal Code Act, which charges basing on the extent of damage.
He noted that many believe the offenders are taking advantage of these weak laws to ensure that the offended continue to live in perpetual fear.
John Sentamu, a human rights institute in the Faculty of Law at Uganda Christian University (UCU) has drafted a Prevention of Acid attacks Bill that will be presented before parliament.
According to the institute, the bill once passed will protect people in Uganda against acid attacks. As reported, it will regulate the importation, purchase, sale and distribution of acid. It also proposes the establishment of an authority to regulate the retail of acid.
“We intend that the bill is tabled before parliament in August this year,” Agaba Arnold, a lecturer of law at UCU has told the Campus Bee. “This law has within it some unique solutions… [which] include settlements between the victims and the attackers.
Students of UCU interning with the same institute have been charged with the responsibility of conducting the necessary research for the bill, Agaba says.
RISE Coalition, one of the Non-Government Organisations the institute has partnered with, says reliable statistics on the prevalence of acid attacks are difficult to find. This is because governments do not always keep official statistics of acid attacks and many survivors do not report the attacks.
The organisation further reports that research by Acid Survivors Foundation Uganda indicates that approximately 13% of Ugandan victims attacked with acid died as a result of their attack.
The most common type of acid used is sulpheric acid, which is used in car batteries and is easily available in car garages and car battery stores. Nitric and hydrochloric acid are also sometimes used.
Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights at the University of Cincinnati and Uganda’s End Acid Violence (EAV) will also help the institute gather more statistics of acid attacks in Uganda.
aaron@ugchristiannews.com
