HRCU WEEKLY UPDATE: ISSUE NO. 25 OF 2022
THE HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE UGANDA
(HRCU)
WEEKLY UPDATE ON COVID-19 AND KEY
EMERGING HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES WITHIN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT OF HRDS IN UGANDA
THE WEEK OF 11TH TO 17TH
JULY, 2022
Dear
reader,
Welcome
to a new week!
In this week’s edition of updates, we begin by
welcoming back HRDs, government agencies, and international agencies such as
the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) from commemorations to observe the
World Population Day that happened on Monday, July 11, 2022.
During the celebrations, the United Nations reported
that November 15, 2022, is a day predicted for the global population to
reach eight (8) billion. The projections were revealed in the UN’s World
Population Prospects 2022 report, which also showed that India is on course to
surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023.
For details please visit: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/07/1122272
This year’s World Population Day Statement by the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) can be accessed via the link below
https://www.unfpa.org/events/world-population-day
COVID-19
UPDATES
Results of COVID-19 tests done on 15 July 2022
confirm 39 new cases. The cumulative confirmed cases are 168,763. The breakdown
of the new cases is: 39 Alerts and Contacts: Kampala (30), Mbarara (2), Mpigi
(2), Wakiso (2), Mityana (1), Isingiro (1), Jinja (1)
Source:https://twitter.com/MinofHealthUG
NEW
COVID-19 MUTANT RAISES CONCERNS IN INDIA AND BEYOND
The quickly changing coronavirusspawned yet another
super contagious omicron mutant that’s worrying scientists as it gains ground
in India and pops up in numerous other countries, the United States. Scientists say the variant
— called BA.2.75 — may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from
vaccines and previous infection. It’s unclear whether it could cause more
serious disease than other omicron variants, including the globally prominent
BA.5.
Source:https://observer.ug/news/headlines/74339-new-covid-19-mutant-raises-concerns-in-india-and-beyond
UGANDA'S
EDUCATION SECTOR TO RECOVER FROM COVID IMPACT AFTER 2030
Uganda's education sector will fully recover
from COVID-19 impact and aftereffects after 2030, according to Makerere
University-based thinktank, Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC).
In the research in which experts analyzed levels of
key education advancement indicators such as enrollment, transitioning, and
quality of education in the years preceding 2020 when the pandemic hit, they
also looked at current performance and modeled how the sector is likely to perform
if key changes are made.
Findings showed that in the education shock
scenario, by 2030, about 1.8 million more people aged 15 and above will not
have completed primary education, and by 2050 nearly 3 million more adults will
have not completed if investment into the sector is not undertaken.
KEY EMERGING
HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES
LANDMARK
RULING ON TORTURE: MEDICAL EVIDENCE, WITNESSES NOT REQUIRED TO PROVE TORTURE -
COURT OF APPEAL
The Court of Appeal ruled that torture victims have
no legal basis and requirement to produce medical evidence.The three-member
panel comprising justices Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, MuzamiruMutangulaKibeedi, and
Christopher Gashirabake notes that it is rare to have direct evidence of
torture since most torture cases are carried out in secret, which makes it
difficult for victims to obtain a medical report.
The judgment arose from a successful appeal filed by
city lawyer; Paul WanyotoMugoya against police sergeant, Joshua Oumo, and the
attorney general. Wanyoto lodged the appeal challenging the failure by the
Anti-Corruption court judge Lawrence Gidudu to dismiss a money laundering case
against him together with his co-accused, Patrick Mugisha alias Allan Kantu on
grounds that they had failed to prove they'd been tortured.
In their ruling, the justices noted that there is no
legal basis for medical evidence to prove torture and expressed disagreement
with the manner in which the High court judge handled this matter.
THE
RIGHT TO A FAIR HEARING:COURT ORDERS PRISONS TO PHYSICALLY
PRODUCE SSEGIRINYA FOR TRIAL
Buganda
Road Chief Magistrate's court ordered the Uganda Prisons Services (UPS) to
physically produce incarcerated Kawempe North MP Muhammad Ssegirinya in court
for his trial.
The
order was issued by chief magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu after a poor internet
connection from Kigo prison disrupted the hearing of a case in which Ssegirinya
is charged with inciting violence. For this particular case, Ssegirinya was
arrested on March 22, 2021, from Mini Price, Kampala while staging a protest
against the outcome of the January presidential elections and demanding the
release of the National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters who were detained in
various facilities across the country.
Ssegirinya
allegedly marched through the streets with placards containing a list of names
of people who had been arrested during campaigns and remained in police
custody, long after the polls. He was subsequently charged and granted bail
before he was arrested on separate charges for which he has remained in
detention for almost a year.
Despite
the ruling, the Zoom link from Kigo Prison, where Ssegirinya is currently
detained remained unstable and interrupted the proceedings. It's against this
background that the magistrate directed the prosecution to produce its last
witness on August 11, 2022.
KARAMOJA HUNGER CRISIS: GOVT EARMARKS SHS135B FOR KARAMOJA FOOD RELIEF
Government tasked the Ministry for Finance to
urgently provide Shs135 billion for the procurement of food to alleviate the
hunger crisis in Karamoja Sub-region, amid complaints of inadequate
interventions by area Members of Parliament.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja told Parliament that
the funds will be used to procure food for three months, as well as seeds for
planting. In the immediate term, MsNabbanja said 200 tonnes of food were
dispatched from the Prime Minister’s office yesterday.
MsNabbanja was responding to complaints of delayed
and inadequate interventions into the hunger crisis afflicting the people by
area MPs.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, who chaired the
sitting, tasked the prime minister to furnish the House with details of
measures being taken to address the food scarcity crisis across the whole
country.
A CALL FOR THE PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS:RISING CASES OF TEENAGE PREGNANCIES, CHILD MARRIAGES WORRY
TESO LEADERS
As Uganda on Monday July 11, joined the rest of the
world to mark World Population Day in Kumi District, Teso sub-region, leaders
were concerned about rising cases of early marriage and teenage
pregnancies.Cases of teenage pregnancies in the Teso sub-region are at 31 per
cent, which is much higher than the national figure which stands at 25 per
cent.
The Kapelebyong District Chairperson, Mr Francis
Akorikin, attributed the rising cases to the Covid-19 pandemic, parental
negligence, lack of sexual education, lack of government will to stop the vice,
and poverty among others.
He stated that out of 100 expectant mothers that
visit health facilities, 28 of them are teenagers, advising his counterparts to
prioritise empowering community development departments to sensitise the
population.
The Executive Director of Reproductive Health
Uganda, Mr Jackson Chekweko, said that out of 338 maternal mortality cases in
the country, 50 per cent are teenage mothers.He advised the government to make
sexual reproductive services available in the region for easy access by young
children.
SPEAKER AMONG URGES THE EAST AFRICAN
COURT TO UPHOLD THE RULE OF LAW
The
speaker of Parliament Anita Among urged the East African Court of Justice, to
uphold and safeguard the Rule of Law in compliance with the treaty for which it
was established.
While
meeting a delegation from the East African Court of Justice led by the
President, Nestor Kayobera,Among said that there is a need to create awareness
about this court so that people who feel dissatisfied can seek redress from
this regional court.She also acknowledged Parliaments’ role of representing the
people of Uganda and serving as a key link between the Court and the
people.
The
president of the East African court Nestor Kayobera applauded the speaker for
supporting the court saying that working with the National assembly’s will
further strengthen this court.
The
Court was formed to contribute to regional Integration by mainly handling
disputes arising from the violation of fundamental and operational principles
that govern the achievement of the objectives of the Community by the EAC
Partner States as enshrined in the Treaty under Articles 6 (d) and 7 (2).
CONCLUDING REMARKS
1.
Article 28 of the Uganda Constitution provides
for the right to a fair hearing/trial and the State has the primary obligation
in upholding this right. It’s against this background, that the decision by
Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court Chief Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu is
welcomed since it exhibits interests of upholding and protecting Hon. Muhammad
Sseginrinya’s right to a fair trial which also requires that suspects are
expeditiously tried in a competent court.
2.
HRCU
highly welcomes the landmark ruling by the Court of Appeal on the trial of torture
victims and the requirement by torture victims to produce evidence in court. It
should be noted that any act of torture violates a person’s non-derogable rights
and freedoms from torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment as
guaranteed under Article 24 of
the Uganda Constitution. In addition, torture cases are usually practiced in
secret chambers/places and suspects have limited provisions in collecting
evidence to produce in court while on trial.
3.
Regarding
the ongoing crisis in the Karamoja sub-region, the government and all relevant
stakeholders including you and me have a role to play in saving lives from
being lost to hunger. As such, joint efforts are welcome in the course of the
week and beyond to address the situation.
We thank you for reading.
We wish you a fruitful new week.
In case of any legal
aid and human rights-related inquiries, please reach out to us via 0800333000.
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