Following president Museveni’s speech regarding the state of security in the country over the weekend, some opposition politicians have said that they were shocked that the president rebuked security forces for violating the rights of Ugandans.
For the first time since he was reelected to office in the 2021 January polls following one of the bloodiest election cycles in Uganda’s recent history, Museveni lashed out at the security forces for using excessive violence.
The president slammed “lazy and undisciplined” security operatives for using torture as one of the ways of extorting confessions from suspects in their custody, as the opposition alleges hundreds of their supporters disappeared or died following a violent election crackdown.
The opposition politicians such as Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine, Erias Lukwago, Dr, Kizza Besigye are among many others who have on several occasions tasted the wrath of security forces by being manhandled, beaten, teargassed and arrested on the allegations of holding illegal rallies among other crimes.
A section of Ugandans including the politicians wondered what could have triggered Museveni’s address, with others describing it as contradictory to his earlier statements and they believe the President is responding to some force or playing to the gallery.
The National Unity Platform (NUP) spokesperson, Joel Ssenyonyi claimed it is absurd that the president has previously supported the killing and the beating of innocent people citing the incident that took place in Arua and Kasese in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Ssenyonyi said now that the president has expressed concern against such acts of violation of human rights, it is time to see action taken against the perpetrators questioning whether this could be the president’s usual talk to just play to the gallery without intention to take any action.
Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda,the Forum for Democratic Change(FDC) ,spokesperson said that the moment something bad that attracts public attention happens, Museveni would come to blame everybody else except himself.
“To his administration tortures have been committed, people have been beaten and Museveni takes no action, in fact the perpetrators of torture are the one he keeps promoting. At each time such incidents have happened, he comes to defend the military, he comes out to defend the police,”he said.
“If Mr. Museveni said that torture is going to end, then we need these individuals one by one to be brought to book, sent to military courts, then we will know that Museveni is repenting and these crimes will never be committed again,” he said.
Medard Lubega Sseggona, the member of Parliament Busiro East said that it is not yet too late for the president to make things right adding that the president must go beyond condemnation.
“There are people who have lost their mothers, their wives, their sisters, brothers and their loved ones. What is the government doing to punish the offenders, to compensate the victims in terms of damages? The president is failing the system because he has all the information, If he has lost the grip, then he can’t continue to be our president,” he said.
Former NRM Kampala Chairperson Captain Francis Babu said that most people have been seeing Museveni in glasses but his speech showed the real Museveni.
“The NRM party belongs to the people. It’s not the NRM that does these bad things. It’s the few NRM members doing these things. The opposition in Uganda uses propaganda and spinning. If we want the security organs to be respectful, we ought to be respectful too, ” he said.
Babu said one of the most important things in the constitution is people’s freedom adding that the President has always condemned acts against people’s freedom.
Recently, a report by the US State department painted a grim picture of Uganda government’s human rights record, re-echoing what civil society and opposition politicians have for long called targeted brutality against dissenting voices.
Titled ‘2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Uganda,’ the report pointed an accusing finger at the police, the UPDF, Local Defence Unit (LDU) personnel and the Uganda prisons for engaging in arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, torture and extra judicial killings.
According to the report, security forces killed individuals who disagreed with the government and those who participated in protests against the government.