The Human Rights Watch (HRW) few week  back published its World Report 2013 in which it confirmed that  the 26 years of tyrant Yoweri Museveni’s rule  in power,  there was a raising  threats to freedom of expression, assembly, and association which raises more serious concerns about Museveni’s government on respect for the rule of law.”

The report indicates that the security forces continues to enjoy impunity for torture, extrajudicial killings, and the report pointed out  the deaths of at least 49 people during protests in 2009 and 2011.” Below is a more detailed report from human rights watch.

Uganda After 26 years of President Yoweri Museveni’s rule, increasing threats to freedom of expression, assembly, and association raise serious concerns about Uganda’s respect for the rule of law. The security forces continue to enjoy impunity for torture, extrajudicial killings, and the deaths of at least 49 people during protests in 2009 and 2011. The government banned a political pressure group…

                                                                   Photos of General David Sejusa

Musevenis recent promiseto probe and bring to book those who were involved in committing attrocities in the north and eastern regions during the insurgency is nothing but a desperate counter insurgencymove meant to isolate Gen Tinyefuza who is in alliance with the likes of Otunnu and Ogole. But moreso his claim that he did not know about these attrocities is a clear demonstration of the level of hypocrisy in him.

Will he also probe the following:-

1. Launching a sectarian guerrilla war to dislodge the northern and eastern regions dominance of government and the military. The bush war morale boosting song “ohhh Melda” that called for the killing of Acholis alluded to this.

2. His NRA killing of Tanzanian troops who were in the country after helping to chase Iddi Amin.

3. His NRA deliberate killing of unarmed civilians real or perceived to be…

 The most important cultural and political unit in East Africa is one’s “tribal affiliation”. Usually when a Kenyan or Ugandan is asked, “Who are you?” He/she will usually respond by naming the tribe to which he/she belongs such as Kikuyu or Lango. These tribes have coexisted together for centuries and have fashioned many different types of relationships with one another. Some have built harmonious collaborations together while others have engaged in open warfare. Many tribes in the Congo considered the members of other tribes their mortal enemies and fought in vicious battles where they enslaved the vanquished until King Leopold and then the Belgian parliament intervened and introduced strict, punitive measures which helped to end most of the tribal conflicts. But even though the tribes were no longer permitted to fight, they never forgot just who their enemies were and passed down these grudges and resentments to subsequent generations. Once the Belgian administrators returned to Belgium and…

As the 2001 Uganda presidential elections loomed and the drama that came with it ensued, I hit voting age with no fanfare, rather, steadfast preparation for a matter of greater personal urgency – final examinations. It wasn’t up for discussion that I wouldn’t participate in the election fracas. Attempts at that debate came up again in 2006, and were avoided altogether by 2011. Being a woman, the right to vote isn’t something I take for granted in a world that is still as sexist today as it was centuries ago. But it always seemed piteous to stand in line for an ink-stained thumb and claims that one had exercised a constitutional right in a shady political environment.

Thus, although I have a high level of interest in Kizza Besigye, particularly the motivations for his campaign(s) against the presidency of Yoweri Museveni, it hasn’t materialized into actually voting for any of these…

For a typical 12-year-old who should be the picture of health: physical, overly playful, full of energy, noisy and mobile, Nancy Lamwaka is the opposite. She is skinny, malnourished, hungry, profoundly retarded and immobile.

With the help of a guide, we approached a simple home composed of two huts in Labul sub-county, Pader district. One of the huts functions as the kitchen. The environment is calm, dominated by tall mango trees. The loudest noise here came from the cocks crowing a good morning to a village that has attracted world attention because of a mysterious disease yet to have a medical name, let alone explanation.

We are ushered in and given wooden seats as Michael Odongkara, Lamwaka’s father, walks back into the living hut. Moments later, he re-emerges with a girl, half naked, pale, looking tired and with her legs tied together. Her eyes are evidently dreading the day ahead.

Kizza Besigye, the opposition leader for Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) was again arrested for the fourth time in as many days. This time, it was brutal. Brutal. Brutal….He was later released with no charge.

We go through a tough time as photographers to record events as they happen. Sometimes you even get emotional and sometimes you don’t.

These are assignments i find very exciting because it provides an opportunity to record not just historical images but events too. Today however, I got little bit emotional and sympathetic to Besigye and his supporters.

They were arrested in a manner I thought was quite inhumane. Remember what our constitutional says about such treatment.

“No person shall be subjected to any form of torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment,” Article 24, Constitution of the Republic of Uganda

The following post is by Barrie Sander, a Ph.D. Candidate in International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID). Barrie, currently on exchange at Harvard Law School, focuses his research on historical narratives and conceptions of justice in the international criminal context.

Dominic Ongwen (Photo Source: Unknown)

Earlier this week, a Ugandan army spokesman confirmed that Dominic Ongwen, a senior commander in the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), was to be transferred by the Central African Republic (CAR) to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The news followed last week’s revelations that Ongwen had been taken into US custody and the call by numerous civil society groups demanding Ongwen’s transfer to The Hague (see, for example, here, here and here).

It has subsequently transpired that Dominic Ongwen has been handed over to Ugandan troops in the CAR. Last week, Mark convincingly argued that…

Why must police continue to torture journalists?
A statement by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament

Press Release

January 16, 2015

On Monday, one Joram Mwesigye, the Division Police Commander of Old Kampala went out of his way to viciously torture Andrew Lwanga, the WBS photo journalist for doing his professional work. We wish to condemn this in the strongest terms possible.
It was right that the leadership of the police acted quickly to apprehend this officer and have him charged in court.
However, this was not the first time journalists or Ugandans were being tortured by the police for doing their rightful duties, an otherwise thankless job. About a year ago the Daily Monitor and the Red Pepper were closed for over a week for reporting stories on remarks by Gen. David Ssejusa. Over the same matter, journalists and other members of the public rightfully demonstrated against the…