Kyagulanyi runs to UN Human Rights Commission over abductions

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | National Unity Platform-NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi is petitioning the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights over the continued abduction and torture of his supporters.

Speaking to reporters at his party headquarters in Kampala following the withdrawal of police who had locked out NUP personnel and supporters since last year, Kyagulanyi said he cannot keep looking on and do nothing as the security forces are going rogue, arresting people whose only crime is to support him.

He said Uganda being a member of the international community, it has obligations that it must fulfill.

Last week, President Museveni admitted that there are some Ugandans who have been arrested by security forces for allegedly engaging in activities that threaten the stability of the state. The president directed the security services to publicize the names of all persons in their custody so that their relatives know their whereabouts.

However during a security briefing on Monday, senior police officers declined to reveal the names of those in their custody. They also tried to downplay the accusation that they are using Toyota Hiaces commonly known as drones to abduct people and hold them incommunicado. The director for Traffic and Road Safety Lawrence Nuwabine attributed the lack of numbers on the dreaded drone vehicles to the looseness and the small number plates they are imported with that keep falling off on the highways.

Kyagulanyi published a list of 243 people who he says were abducted by security from different parts of the country and until now, their whereabouts are not known. Kyagulanyi however added that more than 3,000 of his supporters have been arrested ever since he started his campaigning in November last year.

Kyagulanyi also said that they are going to challenge the decision by the Court Martial to charge 49 of his close associates who were arrested last year when he had gone to campaign in Kalangala district.

He said if the state has evidence against the 49 who include the likes of Eddy Mutwe, Nubian Li, Dan Magic among others, then it should charge them in a civilian court because they are not part of the military. On Monday, the Court Martial declined to grant bail to 36 of these supporters arguing that they are still capable of causing chaos. On February 8, the Court Martial released 13 of the 49 NUP supporters.

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