Ugandan police officers charged for 'torturing' women

Ten police officers in Uganda have been charged for allegedly torturing a group of women while enforcing a lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, the Uganda Police Force said on Tuesday.

The officers were accused of caning 38 women and forcing them to swim in mud in the northern town of Elegu.

The 10 officers would be held in custody until 7 May, the police said.

Photos of the women showing injuries they had sustained and their muddy clothes were shared online over the weekend.

DISTURBING IMAGES: Women who were tortured by police and UPDF officers at the Elegu border.

These were rounded up in a lodge owned by the chairperson of the Cross Border Traders Cooperative Auma Margaret. #NBSUpdates #COVID19 #StaySafeUG pic.twitter.com/XOHPsA7oyb

— NBS Television (@nbstv) April 5, 2020

Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga said on Monday that the officers used a "heavy-handed approach" to disperse the women, adding that the incident was being investigated.

President Yoweri Museveni last week told police officers not to arrest people inside their compounds.

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Coronavirus in Africa

Uganda