Among proposed to engage the President over the prolonged detention of suspects, and deferred determination on the four Opposition demands until after a meeting she scheduled with the Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission next week, Monday.
The Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has proposed a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni over fresh
demands by the Opposition legislators regarding the forced disappearance of citizens
and human rights violations.
The Leader of
the Opposition in Parliament Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba presented four fresh demands to the Government on Tuesday to unconditionally
release all political prisoners and institute a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the disappearance of 18 supporters of the opposition National Unity Platform – NUP party who have been missing
since 2021.
Mpuuga also demanded that Parliament establishes
a Select Committee to investigate alleged cases of rape, and defilement as well
as the transfer of all persons being subjected to unlawful trials before the
Court Martial despite such trials being outlawed by the Constitutional Court in a 2021 ruling.
//Cue in; “There are dozens of…
Cue out…Court Martial is contemptuous.”//
The LOP made the demands in a rejoinder to an earlier statement by Gen. David Muhoozi, the
Minister of State for Internal Affairs Gen. David Muhoozi saying that most of the alleged missing persons have never been
reported to the police thus complicating investigations.
//Cue in; “The law clearly…
Cue out…any trial since 2020.”//
Gen. Muhoozi cited inconsistencies in the numbers and testimonies in the
various claims of reported disappeared persons and presented variously to the Uganda Human
Rights Commission, the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, and the latest
statement by the LOP. He explained that the alleged missing persons’ next of kin have
declined to give statements to police, making it difficult for the government
to conclude investigations.
In response to the
demands by the Opposition, the Deputy Attorney General, Jackson Kafuuzi committed to convene a meeting with the top leadership in the Judiciary which
will include Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, and the Director of Public
Prosecutions – DPP among others to consider cases that have been on remand
beyond the 48-hour constitutional requirement.
In its annual report released on October 11, 2023, the chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission
(UHRC), Mariam Wangadya, revealed that the Commission has
resolved to close 18 files of the allegedly missing NUP party supporters after
failing to trace them.
Speaker
Among proposed to engage the President over the prolonged detention of
suspects, and deferred determination on the four Opposition demands until after
a meeting she scheduled with the
Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission next week, Monday.
According to Among, the pending meeting will involve her Deput Thomas
Tayebwa and the Leader of the Opposition to forge a way of settling the
impasse.
Ochola's journalism career begun from Radio King 90.2 FM in Gulu around 2009, and Radio Rupiny 95.7 Fm under Vision Group in 2012. He also reported for Mighty Fire 91.5 Fm, Kitgum in 2015 before joining Wizarts Foundation in 2017.
He has been reporting for Uganda Radio Network (URN) since 2017 before being posted as Bureau Chief Kitgum, and later Gulu between 2018 - 2021. Currently, he reports from Parliament.
