The Human Rights Centre Uganda (HRCU)
WEEKLY UPDATE ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND KEY EMERGING ISSUES WITHIN THE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS’ WORKING ENVIRONMENT
INTRODUCTION
As we journey on in 2021, HRCU continues to document some of the key developments within the working environment of human rights defenders (HRDs) in Uganda. Speaking and interacting with some of the HRDs in the regions (Eastern, Western, Central, Northern and South Western Uganda) reveals that despite some reports and realities of violation and abuse of human rights and fundamental freedoms, they continue to be resilient and to focus on their work of ensuring that at the end of each day, everyone enjoys their inherent and universally recognized rights and fundamental freedoms.
HRCU congratulates all Ugandans for going through the election exercise that took place on January 14, 2021. It’s worth noting that we have a President elect who waits to swear in on May 12, 2021 and lead Uganda for the next five years. Appreciation is to all those who preached and observed the message for peace before, during and after the elections. The call is to see that we all continue to spread this message across the board because when we have a peaceful country, it’s most likely that we will have a peaceful coexistence.
Below are some of the highlights from the week of Monday 11th to Sunday 17th January 2021.
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COVID-19 UPDATE IN UGANDA
There are currently 38,085 recorded cases of COVID-19 cases in Uganda. 304 cases were recorded and there are 13,083 recoveries.
Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uganda/
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UGANDA DECIDES: PRESIDENTIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
BOBI WINE, AMURIAT, MUNTU URGE UGANDANS TO VOTE MASSIVELY AND GUARD THEIR VOTES ON THURSDAY
In a joint press conference held at Hotel Africana on Tuesday morning (January 12, 2021), opposition presidential candidates Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine, Patrick Oboi Amuriat and Mugisha Muntu have urged Ugandans to massively vote and guard their votes jointly, regardless of their political affiliations. The opposition candidates said that this was their first step to a “unity of purpose” in their effort to bring the 35 year old reign of incumbent President Yoweri Museveni to an end. Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate Patrick Oboi Amuriat in his speech said that the onus was on the Electoral Commission to ensure that the voting process was free and fair because the opposition was united to expose any irregularities.
Source: Nile Post, Tuesday January 12, 2021:
WOMEN SITUATION ROOM CALLS FOR PEACEFUL ELECTIONS
The Women Situation Room- WSR rallied Ugandans to embrace peace as the country prepared for polls on Thursday January 14, 2021. The WSR, which was established in Liberia in 2011 by Angie Brooks International (ABIC), is women-led early warning and rapid response mechanism to curb violence before, during and after elections in African countries. It aims at the mitigating election-related conflicts, de-escalate tensions, facilitate real-time response to violent incidents and ensure peaceful elections.
Unlike in 2016 general elections where the WSR was only visible in Kampala, this year, the platform had opened three other regional Physical Situation Rooms to contribute to its agenda. It is now visible in 30 districts across the country that was hosted in Gulu, Kampala, Mbarara and Soroti. The Physical Situation Room allowed Ugandan women to take peace into their hands by demonstrating that women are not just passive victims but are often determined and active stakeholders in ensuring that peace prevails in the country.
Source: The Independent, January 12, 2021:
https://www.independent.co.ug/women-situation-room-calls-for-peaceful-elections/
BOBI WINE PLANS TO STAGE OWN KIDNAP AFTER CASTING VOTE, POLICE SAY
The police said Tuesday January 12, 2021 that they had credible information that the National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine planned to stage his own abduction after casting his vote on Thursday January 14, 2021. Speaking at the police headquarters in Naguru, the Force’s spokesperson, Mr. Fred Enanga said Bobi Wine world possibly hide at an embassy (that he did not name) on Thursday after casting his vote and would thereafter allege through his NUP networks and bloggers, that he had been kidnapped by state operatives.
The intention, according to the police, was to incite the public and cause violence. Mr. Enanga pointed out the recent Kampala riots following the arrest of Kyagulanyi in November 2020 which led to the deaths of over 30 people saying that the candidate intended to incite another wave of these. He strongly condemned the planned tactic and issued a strong warning to the perpetrators. The remarks were made while briefing the nation on what security institutions expected to be the behavior of voters during the elections.
Source: Daily Monitor Tuesday January 12, 2021:
MUSEVENI WINS ELECTION WITH 58.6%
Ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party presidential candidate, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Saturday brushed off ten other candidates to extend his presidency to 40 years after Electoral Commission (EC) chairman Simon Byabakama credited him 5,851,037 votes, representing 58.64% of the 9,978,093 valid votes. Final results from the EC indicated that closest opposition challenger, Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine’s had a cumulative tally of 3,475,298 votes (34.83), cementing Mr. Museveni’s lead.
“Having obtained the highest number of votes; and votes cast in his favor being more than 50% at the election, EC declares candidate Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Kaguta Museveni as the president of Uganda through an election held January 14,” EC chairperson Simon Byabakama disclosed.
President Museveni beat Mr. Kyagulanyi to the country’s top seat by about 2,375, 739 votes.
Here is a wrap of how all eleven candidates in the race performed.
Source: Daily Monitor, Saturday January 16, 2021:
https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/museveni-wins-election-with-58-6--3258968
UGANDA OPPOSITION LEADER SAYS MILITARY HAS SEIZED HIS HOUSE
Ugandan politician Bobi Wine said the military took control of his house on Friday January 15, 2021, the day after he stood in the national election against the incumbent president Yoweri Museveni. The 38-year-old was Mr. Museveni’s main rival and was particularly popular with the country’s youth, leading the regime to target him and his supporters during his presidential campaign.
In a tweet posted on Friday afternoon, Mr. Wine said: “We are under siege. The military has jumped over the fence and has now taken control of our home.”
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/bobi-wine-house-siege-uganda-election-b1787958.html
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THE RIGHT TO ACCESS INFORMATION: INTERNET FREEDOMS
UGANDANS OPT FOR VPN AFTER GOVT BANS SOCIAL MEDIA
By Wednesday January 13, 2021 in the afternoon, a number of Ugandans were able to access the blocked platforms using Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and also had an option of using Wi-Fi in some places, a proxy website or a Tor browser for access as the nation braced for an election that would decide who the next president would be. This followed a Tuesday night confirmation by incumbent president Yoweri Museveni of the blocking of the platforms. “I am sure government has already banned this social media,” he said during a national address.
Facebook which Mr. Museveni suggested and used as a scientific electoral campaign tool was accused of being politically segregative and promoting left-wing agenda. According to him, if it was going to operate in Uganda, it had to be used equitably and that if they wanted to operate against the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), would not operate in Uganda. It may be recalled that Facebook had on January 9 deleted pages of pro-government elements, equally accusing their operators of violating their content dissemination policies.
Source: Daily Monitor Wednesday 13, 2021:
MUSEVENI EXPLAINS WHY GOVERNMENT CLOSED SOCIAL MEDIA AHEAD OF ELECTION
President Museveni on Wednesday evening (January 19, 2021) confirmed closure of social media channels ahead of Thursday’s General Election. The President, who was addressing the country ahead of the election apologised for inconveniences caused to social media users and blamed the shutdown on one of the international groups that decided to block the NRM message senders, targeting them. He mentioned Face book.
In the previous week, owners of 50 Facebook accounts in support of the President were closed. Mr. Museveni was bitter with California-based Facebook for refusing to heed the appeals by the government to release the social media pages of his supporters. He said the result was that his government had to shut down the internet. According to him, it was unfortunate but was unavoidable; that there was no way anybody could come to Uganda and play around with our country and decide to decide who was good and who was bad.
Source: Daily Monitor Wednesday January 13, 2021:
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NEWS AROUND THE WORLD: INAUGURATION OF US PRESIDENT
SECURITY BEEFED UP AS COUNTDOWN BEGINS TO BIDEN'S INAUGURATION
The inauguration of the 46th president of the United States is scheduled for Wednesday January 20, 2021 when President-elect Joe Biden and his Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be inaugurated. Security is one of the main concerns after the horrendous assault by pro-Trump supporters on the Capitol on January 6. Vice President Mike Pence checked the National Guard's troops assuring the security in Washington DC. "We will deliver a safe inauguration", he said. He also held a meeting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Preparations around the capital are underway for Biden's big day. Workers can were seen putting up banners and mounting platforms for the inaugural ceremony. More than 20,000 National Guard troops could be in Washington to help secure Biden's inauguration, Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said on Wednesday.
Source: Africa News:
https://www.africanews.com/2021/01/15/security-beefed-up-as-countdown-begins-to-biden-s-inauguration//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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