UN slams Uganda’s crackdown on dissent

UN rights chief Volker Turk said the crackdown was twinned with a gradual erosion of the rule of law, increased military involvement in civilian institutions, and shrinking civic space.

“I am appalled that the authorities are increasingly targeting any form of dissent, and deepening restrictions on the fundamental freedoms of all those living in Uganda,” he said in a statement.

“Those who dare to speak out are silenced.”

Uganda has imposed a widening crackdown on opposition figures, lawyers and independent media in recent months.

President Yoweri Museveni, 81, who has been in charge since 1986, was re-elected for a seventh term in January.

Since the election, repression has increased against all those perceived to oppose the government, the statement from Turk’s office said.

According to their information, at least at least 50 opposition leaders and supporters, five human rights defenders and five journalists have been subjected to human rights violations since then, including “enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment, and arbitrary arrest or detention”.

Uganda ranks a lowly 143 out of 180 countries worldwide on the media watchdog Reporters without Borders’ press freedom index.

“I call on the government to abide by its obligations… to ensure a vibrant civil society where everyone can freely express their views and participate in public affairs,” Turk said.