11/08/2025
News
Temple Garden Chambers is a leading common law set based in London and The Hague.
With excellence from top to bottom Chambers provides a first class service in a number of different fields.
Temple Garden Chambers is a leading common law set based in London and The Hague.
With excellence from top to bottom Chambers provides a first class service in a number of different fields.
01/09/2025
Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers, alongside Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew’s Hill, has secured a landmark judgment at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), which has held Uganda responsible for the torture, unlawful detention, and denial of due process of Rwandan national Acléo Kalinga.
The Commission found Uganda in violation of multiple provisions of the African Charter, including the right to dignity, the right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, the right to liberty and security of the person, and the right to a fair trial. It ordered Uganda to conduct an impartial investigation, prosecute perpetrators, provide compensation and an apology, and implement anti-torture safeguards in line with international standards.
Mr Kalinga, a Rwandan national, was abducted by Ugandan security forces in 2005 and subjected to horrific treatment during nearly two years in secret detention. Medical evidence shows lifelong physical and psychological harm. His case was filed in 2009 by REDRESS, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), but judgment was only delivered in 2024 and published in 2025, highlighting systemic delays in the regional human rights system. In 2021, International Human Rights Advisors assumed conduct of the case at the request of REDRESS due to the legal complexities and concerns about reprisals against Mr Kalinga.
For Mr Kalinga, the ruling brings long-awaited recognition of his suffering at the hands of the Ugandan authorities. For victims across Africa, it sets an important precedent, reaffirming the absolute prohibition of torture under the African Charter and establishing that victims cannot be required to exhaust domestic remedies where the state itself is implicated in abuses.
The decision, delivered in March 2024 and published in August 2025, concludes one of the Commission’s longest-running cases, highlighting the systemic challenges victims face in Africa’s human rights framework.
Rhys Davies commented:
“This case shows the resilience of our client. The outcome is important, but it should not take this long for the African Commission to recognise such clear violations. The challenge now is ensuring Uganda complies with its obligations and delivers meaningful reparations.”
