Five torture survivors arrested at UHRC offices
Police arrest one of the torture survivors at the offices of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) where they had gone to deliver a petition calling for the resignation of the commission's chairperson, Ms Marian Wangadya over her alleged inaction against increasing cases of human rights abuse by state operatives. PHOTOS/ ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- According to Patrick Onyango, any person or organization that want to demonstrate ought to first seek clearance from the Inspector General of Police, Martins Okoth Ochola.
- The development comes days after the government of Uganda on February 3, 2023 formally notified the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of the decision not to renew the mandate of its office in Kampala beyond its current term.
Police are holding five torture survivors who were arrested on Thursday morning at the offices of Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) in Kampala.
The five activists who included Moses Sserugga, Richard Ssebuganda, Hussein Mukwaaya, Brian Ssemanda and one sserunkuuma, under their umbrella body 'Torture Survivors Movement Uganda' had gone to UHRC to deliver a petition calling for the resignation of the commission's chairperson, Ms Mariam Wangadya whom they accuse of "inaction against increasing cases of rights violation by state operatives."
“From 2019 to date Republic of Uganda has been marked by bad leadership buttressed from dictatorship of Yoweri Kanguta Museveni and his state propagandists like Mariam Wangandya. Human Rights violations against the strong supporters of the strongest opposition party NUP, Candidates and members. Recently; illegal abductions, delayed justice, Government failure to protect citizens of Uganda, extrajudicial killings of opposition supporters, Political persecutions against the opposition supporters, and trying of civilians in military courts have markedly increased. On record, in the year 2020 on the 18th and 19th of November following the illegal planned arrest of Presidential Candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu during the National Elections. Over 80 people lost lives and others sustained permanent injuries caused by the police operatives, however, the concerned bodies in the Ugandan government have done nothing about the matter,” reads part of their petition, a copy of which was seen by this reporter.
They were intercepted by police the rights offices’ gate and bundled into a waiting police patrol truck.
Their arrest happened hours after police said on Wednesday that they had gotten information about a planned demonstration in Kampala before they warned against what they described as “illegal protests.”
"We have received intelligence information that there are political activists who are planning to demonstrate tomorrow 9/2/2023 starting as early as 7am in Kampala. The demonstrators are planning to attack human rights offices and other government installations. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) has not received any notification from any person or organization of any intended demonstration,” Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango said Wednesday.
According to him, any person or organization that want to demonstrate ought to first seek clearance from the Inspector General of Police, Martins Okoth Ochola.
“We appeal to members of the public not to participate in any illegal demonstration. Whoever participates in any illegal demonstration shall be arrested and charged to court. We also appeal to members of the public not be lured into participating in illegal activities,” Mr Onyango warned.
The development comes days after the government of Uganda on February 3, 2023 formally notified the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of the decision not to renew the mandate of its office in Kampala beyond its current term.
The OHCHR is a department of the UN secretariat mandated by the General Assembly to among others prevent human rights violations, securing respect for all human rights, promote international cooperation, protect human rights, and streamline the UN system in the field of human rights.
In a February 3 letter to the OHCHR, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs argued that “the prevailing peace throughout the country, coupled with strong national human rights institutions and a vibrant civil society—with capacity to monitor the promotion and protection of human rights” in-house rendered the office’s presence redundant.
Thus: “The Ministry wishes to convey the government’s decision not to renew the mandate of the OHCHR country office beyond the current term in accordance with Article 68 of the Host Country Agreement signed on February 9, 2020.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, detailed they would continue to deal with OHCHR in Switzerland, through Uganda’s Permanent Mission in Geneva.
The OHCHR opened in Kampala in 2006 to promote human rights after the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency in Northern and North-Eastern Uganda. After repulsing the Joseph Kony-led LRA’s bands, who unleashed unbridled terror on the region—kidnapping, killing, and militating—government in 2009 renewed the office’s mandate on a periodic basis and expanded to cover the entire country.
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