UGANDA: 18 YEARS ON DEATH ROW FOR A MURDER HE DIDN'T COMMIT

Edmary Mpagi described the 18 years he spent on death row in Uganda for a crime he didn't commit. In 1981, at age 27, he was arrested in Masaka and accused, first of aggravated robbery, and later, murder. I was taken to police cells together with five members of my family,’’ Mpagi said. Later, four members of his family were released but he and another cousin, Fred Masembe were charged with murder and remanded to Masaka Prison. There they spent five months before being convicted of murder and were later transferred to Luzira Maximum Prison in 1982. He was sentenced to death for the murder of a man who was later found to have been alive in Jinja. Until "1984, we were just staying inside our cells. We used to come out for just 24 minutes for exercise,’’ he says. It was not until 1991 that they were given some freedom. "We were allowed to pray together, come out, exercise and walk around,’’ he added. From 24 minutes, the condemned inmates were granted at least one hour out of their rooms. This was because many people were suffering because they lacked vitamin A and so risked becoming blind. "You would find some with swollen legs, others were blind or couldn’t see during the day because they lacked the essential vitamin. We were also given vitamin D because we were not getting enough sunshine. There was a priest who used to bring us Vitamin D in our cells,’’ he says. Because of being confined inside, many prisoners would fall ill yet there was no proper treatment. For instance in 1991, when there was a dysentery epidemic, Mpagi says at least 66 people lost their lives. In 1982, he was sleeping in the execution chambers because their room was congested as there were many prisoners of war. After help from international aid groups, the Attorney General ordered his release on July 12, 2000. He was then 45 years old.