Increased military presence at protests should worry Ugandans
Recently, I watch on television as a group of youth in Kamwokya, Kampala, dressed in red T-shirts decorated with Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu’s picture were dispersed by heavily armed soldiers.
It was reported that the small group of unarmed youth had gathered to discuss how MP Kyagulanyi, commonly known as Bobi Wine, who is currently receiving medical treatment in the US, would be welcomed back home.
It continues to surprise me that the AK-47-wielding soldiers are becoming a common spectacle in enforcing law and order as Uganda Police Force officers watch from the sideline.
According to a 2007 World Bank study, “AK-47 is the weapon of choice for guerrillas, terrorists and rebels. No firearm of any kind has killed more people than the AK-47 Kalashnikov.” It is emblazoned on the Mozambique national flag, on the banners of Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Some military observers say the AK-47 is a deadly battlefield weapon designed to kill, firing bullets that penetrate right through human flesh and leaving a gaping hole with little chances of survival. It is, therefore, questionable why security forces continue using such lethal weapons against unarmed civilians.
It was interesting to hear what President Museveni had to say on the Special Forces Command (SFC) and torture in his four-hour press conference last Sunday evening.
“There has been much talk about the torture by the SFC on honourables Bobi Wine and [Francis] Zaake.
This talk is in the media, yet these are matters in the courts of law. The questions in the minds of those who love fairness are the following: That if those allegations turn out to be false, will the accusers, local and foreign, rectify the injustice they have done to the SFC?” he asked.
“Final question, do these SFC have rights according to these human rights activists, or are they to be assaulted, beaten, stoned or maligned with impunity?” he added.
It seemed there was a false impression being created that Ugandan civilians are armed terrorists posing imminent danger and threat to the State.
Former Israeli judge Benjamin Halevy once said the use of live ammunition against unarmed persons who pose no danger to anyone is unlawful. In 1990 Justice Halevy’s school of thought was supported by the 8th UN Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders and constituted into international law, aimed at safeguarding civilians.
What we witness in Uganda today is worrying as we could have a repeat of what happened in China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Chinese troops and security police stormed through Tiananmen Square, firing indiscriminately into the crowds of protesters.
In 2014, after years of secrecy about the Tiananmen Square bloodbath, declassified documents by the United Kingdom government revealed that an estimated 10,000 civilians were killed.
According to Human Rights Watch, senior Chinese officials at the time perceived the Tiananmen protestors as a threat to the Communist Party’s existence and control.
With China’s stronghold and influence in Uganda increasing exponentially, one hopes and prays that we do not pick a leaf from our friends from the East.
Ms Victoria Nyeko is a media commentator.
[email protected]
Twitter:@VictoriaNyeko
