HRCU WEEKLY UPDATE AND ANALYSIS | 29TH SEPTEMBER TO 5TH OCTOBER 2025
Dear Human Rights Defender and Partner in Human Rights Promotion,
Welcome to the second week of October, 2025!
As
we begin a new week, the Human Rights Centre Uganda reaffirms its unwavering
commitment to justice, dignity, and the protection of all human rights for all people.
In
the face of both persistent and emerging challenges, we call upon all
stakeholders to remain engaged, united, and proactive. Meaningful collaboration
and open dialogue are essential to building lasting, rights-based solutions
that uplift and empower our communities.
Below is a snapshot of last week’s key human
rights developments. We deeply value your continued dedication and partnership
as we work together towards a just, inclusive, and rights-respecting society.
NATIONAL UPDATES
GOVT MAY BLOCK INTERNET DURING 2026 ELECTIONS – MINISTER
KABBYANGA
The
State Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Mr. Godfrey Kabbyanga Baluku, said the government was likely to interrupt internet connectivity during the 2026 General
Election if intelligence reports points to attempts to use it to incite
violence.
Source:
BESIGYE EXTRADITION CASE: KENYAN HIGH COURT ORDERS AG
ODUOR TO FILE RESPONSE
The Kenyan High Court in Milimani has issued an order requiring Attorney General
(AG) Dorcas Agik Oduor to file a response in the case concerning Uganda’s
former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party president Dr.Col (rtd) Kizza
Besigye and his aide Hajji Obeid Lutale, within 14 days
Source:
https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/besigye-extradition-case-kenyan-high-court-or-NV_219538
BESIGYE SEEKS TO PERSONALLY ADDRESS COURT IN TREASON CASE
Opposition
stalwart Dr.Kizza Besigye has asked the High Court to allow him to personally
raise concerns in his treason proceedings,prompting debate over the extent of a
represented accused person’s right to speak in open court.
Source:
US PARTNERS WITH UGANDA TO INTRODUCE LIFE-SAVING HIV
PREVENTION TREATMENT IN 2026
The
US Department of State has announced a life-saving development to bring
US-based Gilead Sciences’ breakthrough drug,lenacapavir,to Uganda.
Source:
KCCA UNVEILS SHS4 TRILLION PLAN TO FIX ROADS, DRAINAGE,
CONGESTION
Kampala
Capital City Authority (KCCA) has unveiled it’s 2025/26-2029/30 Strategic
Plan,projecting that the city will require more than 4 trillion for
roads,drainage,flyovers,and transport retooling to ease congestion and flooding
Source:
STATE OPPOSES BAIL FOR NUP SUPPORTERS, COURT SETS RULING
FOR OCTOBER 3
The
Kawempe Grade One Magistrate Court has pushed the ruling on the bail
application for ten National Unity Platform (NUP) leaders and supporters to
October 3, 2025 after the state objected to their release.
Source:
REGIONAL UPDATES
WEEK-LONG FIRE AT NAMIBIA’S ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK
CONTAINED
A
fire that ravaged a third of a Namibia's Etosha National Park is "now
contained", according to the country's environment minister, Indeleni
Daniel.
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wdne7kdw8o
MADAGASCAR POLICE FIRE TEAR GAS AS PRESIDENT FAILS TO
PLACATE PROTESTERS
Police
in Madagascar have fired tear gas as hundreds of young protesters returned to
the streets of the capital, despite the president agreeing to dissolve his
government.
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y5j98p4pjo
POLICE BREAK UP RING TRAFFICKING KENYANS TO FIGHT FOR
RUSSIA IN UKRAINE
More
than 20 people have been rescued in Kenya from a suspected human trafficking
ring that lured them with job offers in Russia but intended to send them to
fight in Ukraine, police said.
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxqjqjln1ko
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES
WHY THE US GOVERNMENT MIGHT SHUT DOWN AND WHEN IT MIGHT
HAPPEN
Funding for the US
government will be cut off at the end of Tuesday unless President Donald
Trump's Republican Party can agree with opposition Democrats on a way forward
on a spending bill.
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrj1znp0pyo
LEADERS IN MIDDLE EAST AND EUROPE WELCOME
TRUMP'S GAZA PEACE PLAN
European and Middle
Eastern leaders have welcomed a US peace plan for Gaza, as President Donald
Trump warned Hamas to accept it.
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dq9xwngv2o
FLIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN GROUNDED AFTER INTERNET SHUTDOWN
Afghanistan's main
airport is at a standstill as the country grapples with the fallout of a
nationwide internet shutdown imposed by the Taliban government.
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxqdy5nrlqo
WEEK'S ANALYSIS
- Blocking the internet during elections violates freedom of expression under Article 29 of the Ugandan Constitution. The law only allows such limits if justified under Article 43, which requires strong public interest reasons. In Karuhanga v. AG (2021), court ruled that election internet shutdowns are illegal and disproportionate. Without clear threats, any 2026 shutdown would likely be unconstitutional.
- The court’s directive for the Attorney General to file a response underscores the judiciary’s commitment to procedural fairness and ensuring all parties are heard before making a ruling. This reflects principles in constitutional and international law requiring the state to justify extradition requests, as established in cases like Republic v. Attorney General & Another Ex Parte Kisilu [2011] eKLR, which safeguard against unlawful extraditions.
- Besigye’s request to personally address the court invokes his right to a fair hearing under Article 28 of the Ugandan Constitution. Courts uphold this to ensure fairness, especially in politically sensitive cases.
- This partnership between the United States and Uganda signifies international cooperation in public health, reflecting global commitments to combat HIV/AIDS as per the UNAIDS framework. Such initiatives often rely on collaborative legal and policy frameworks to ensure access to essential medicines, balancing intellectual property rights and public health imperatives.
- KCCA’s UGX 4 trillion plan is backed by the Kampala Capital City Act, 2010 and supports the right to a clean environment under Article 39 of the Ugandan Constitution. In Environmental Action Network Ltd v. Attorney General, HCCS No. 39 of 2001 [2001] UGHC 121, the court affirmed the state's duty in urban planning. Implementation must follow procurement laws and ensure accountability.
- The state’s opposing bail for NUP supporters cites public order and investigation concerns under Article 23(6)(a) of the Ugandan Constitution. In Uganda v. Besigye (2005), bail was upheld as a right, though not absolute. Courts weigh offence gravity and risks like absconding. The October 3 ruling will balance these factors.
- The week-long fire in Namibia’s Etosha National Park, reportedly caused by failed firebreaks linked to charcoal production, highlights the state's duty under the Environmental Management Act and national park regulations to prevent environmental degradation, with possible liability under the strict liability doctrine for ecological damage.Namibia's failure to contain the fire early may be challenged using principles found in international law (e.g., Convention on Biological Diversity) and domestic tort law, similar to the reasoning in Rylands v. Fletcher (UK, 1868), where landowners were held liable for damage caused by escapes from their land.
- In Madagascar, police use of tear gas against protesters risks violating rights to peaceful assembly and expression under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and national law. The 2023 Constitutional Court ruled similar force excessive and unconstitutional, postponing elections. This sets a precedent that force must be necessary, legal, and proportionate. States must carefully justify crowd-control measures to respect fundamental rights.
- The trafficking of Kenyans to fight in Ukraine violates Kenya’s Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act and international laws like the Palermo Protocol. Recruitment for armed conflict is a form of exploitation under these laws. In R v. Leteipa [2016], the court affirmed that deception in cross-border recruitment constitutes trafficking. The police action reflects legal efforts to prevent such human rights abuses.
- Failing to pass a budget or continuing resolution, the U.S. Congress is triggering a government shutdown, with non-essential services stopping under the Antideficiency Act (31 U.S.C. 1341–1342), as first enforced through the 1980 Civiletti legal opinions, which interpret spending without appropriation as unlawful.
- Welcoming Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, leaders in the Middle East and Europe are supporting a possible path toward ceasefire and reconstruction, while legal obligations under international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention and UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, are framing its legitimacy and enforceability.
- Imposing a nationwide internet blackout, the Taliban is grounding flights in Afghanistan by disrupting critical aviation communications, violating safety protocols under the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation (1944), and drawing parallels to cases like Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020), which challenge such shutdowns on constitutional and human rights grounds.
Comments
Post a Comment