US imposes sanctions on Kayihura

The US government through its treasury department has imposed sanctions on former Police chief General Edward Kale Kayihura for reportedly engaging in corruption and human rights abuses.

In a statement released on Friday, September 13, 2019, the US government claims that Kayihura directly supervised the torture of prisoners at the Nalufenya Police Special investigations facility in Jinja.

"As the IGP for the UPF, Kayihura led individuals from the UPF's Flying Squad Unit, which has engaged in the inhumane treatment of detainees at the Nalufenya Special Investigations Center (NSIC).

Flying Squad Unit members reportedly used sticks and rifle butts to abuse NSIC detainees, and officers at NSIC are accused of having beaten one of the detainees with blunt instruments to the point that he lost consciousness. Detainees also reported that after being subjected to the abuse they were offered significant sums of money if they confessed to their involvement in a crime."

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Mr Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said this was a warning to those who abuse their power around the world.

"The U.S. government is committed to leveraging our human rights and corruption authorities to target, disrupt, and counter those who engage in abuse and corruption around the world," he said.

The US government also claims in the statement, that General Kayihura used his position in government to engage in corruption and illegal wildlife trade through conduits.

"Kayihura has engaged in numerous acts of corruption, including using bribery to strengthen his political position within the Government of Uganda, stealing funds intended for official Ugandan government business, and using another government employee to smuggle illicit goods, including drugs, gold, and wildlife, out of Uganda."

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What the sanctions means

This treasury ban means that General Kale Kayihura's US property if he has any, will be confiscated by the US government, and he will also be banned from entering the united states.

General Kale Kayihura was Uganda's Inspector General of Police for nearly 13 years, making his tenure the longest in the Police force's history.

Gen Kayihura was fired by President Yoweri Museveni in March 2018 and later arrested.

He is currently facing several charges in the military court-martial.

He was once seen as one of the most powerful military officers in the country before falling out of favour with the President.

Mr Museveni blamed the police for failing to curb rising insecurity in the country including murders and kidnappings. After sacking Gen Kayihura and the Minister of Security Henry Tumukunde the President said he had “uprooted the bean weevil that had infiltrated the police force.”

During his tenure, Gen Kayihura was accused, mostly by human rights watchdogs, of militarizing the police and heavy-handedness in dealing with anti-government protests.

Several of his allies, including senior police officers, have been arrested for alleged illegal arrests, kidnap and repatriation of Rwandan refugees.

The police force has also seen a raft of leadership changes.