AU tasks govt to respond on Bunyoro rights abuses

KAMPALA. The government of Uganda has up to the start of February to respond to evidence submitted to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) over alleged violation of human rights of the people of Bunyoro Sub-region, Daily Monitor can reveal.
The petition was filed by Bunyoro Kitara Reparation Agency (Bukitarera), a non-governmental organisation based in Hoima District, which has been seeking justice on the injustices and violations the region suffered during colonial rule and in the post-independence era.
This newspaper has seen a letter dated December 6, 2018 and signed by Dr Mary Maboreke, the secretary to the ACHPR, confirming to Mr Doviko Batwale, the Chief Coordinator of Bukitarera, that the evidence he submitted in October had been transmitted to the Ugandan government for response.
Dr Maboreke in the letter said government had been given 60 days to have submitted a response on the Bukitarera evidence of admissibility to the Commission’s Secretariat in Banjul, the Gambian capital.
“In accordance with Rule 105 (2) of the Rules of Procedure of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission), your submissions on Admissibility have been transmitted to the Respondent State, which has been requested to forward its written submission on Admissibility, to the Secretariat within sixty (60) days of notification,” Dr Maboreke stated in the letter.
The Deputy Attorney General, Mr Mwesigwa Rukutana, yesterday told us that his office is yet to receive the transmitted submissions on Admissibility from the ACHPR that were filed by Bukitarera.
Mr Rukutana said the only matter his office is handling concerning Bukitarera is a petition by a delegation from Bunyoro which was complaining against the NGO’s activities, saying it is divisive and is sowing seeds of sectarianism.
“Not to the best of my knowledge. Maybe the information is with another arm of government. On the contrary, I received a group of people from Bunyoro who were protesting against Bukitarera’s activities. That group came to me and said Bukitarera was divisive, it was sowing sectarianism, it was anti-government and it was causing commission in society,” Mr Rukutana said.
Mr Rukutana said he promised to engage with Bukitarera after the festive season over the allegations made by the delegation, adding that government would also respond to ACHPR when the submissions are received.
Uganda is signatory to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which was adopted by the AU on November 2, 1987 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.