KAMPALA, Uganda
The United States government
has called for “independent, credible, impartial and thorough” investigations
into alleged irregularities in Uganda’s presidential elections.File: Ugandan presidential candidate Bobi Wine is led into a vehicle by riot policemen in Luuka district, eastern Uganda Nov. 18, 2020.
Washington
also wants members of state security services probed for alleged abuses against
Opposition candidates and civil society.
Mr
Ned Price, the US Department of State spokesman, said early this week that Uganda’s
January 14 elections were “marred by election irregularities and abuses by
government’s security services”. He did not provide specifics or evidence
to substantiate the alleged anomalies.
However,
Ugandan officials, including President Museveni have admitted that security
forces killed at least 54 civilians in November 2020 while subduing protests
sparked by the arrest of then president candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi
Wine.
The
government is investigating the killings, according to the President, who
provided no timeline of the inquiries and whether the findings will be made
public.
He
has separately described most victims as “rioters” and “terrorists” while
promising that the government will compensate those shot without basis.
At the Tuesday press conference at the US Department of State headquarters in Washington DC, Mr Price said: “We strongly urge [for] independent, credible, impartial and thorough investigations into these incidents. We will consider a range of targeted options to hold accountable those members of the security forces responsible for these actions.”
In
Kampala, Information minister and government spokesperson Judith Nabakooba last
evening said it was difficult to respond to unspecified concerns. “We
will wait, as we expect, for their communication through the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. We will sit [as Cabinet] and discuss the concerns and respond
as government,” she said.
Mr
Price had said unspecified options under consideration would target to hold
accountable individuals “responsible for what we saw in the context of Uganda’s
election just as we continue to work with Uganda to pursue some of our mutual
interests”.
The
Department of State leads America’s foreign policy to advance US interests
abroad and its public criticism and call for audit of Uganda’s elections
suggests the matter has gained currency and high-level attention in Joe Biden’s
administration.
Incumbent
Yoweri Museveni won the January 14 poll with 60 per cent while runner-up Bobi
Wine, who got 35 per cent of the valid votes, rejected the results as
manufactured and called for an audit, a call which has gone nowhere.
It
remained unclear how the US planned to make good its demand for independent
inquiries into the election results, which Bobi challenged in court but is
withdrawing prematurely citing biased judges.
Asked
whether Washington had formally petitioned the Ugandan government, Mr Anthony
Kujawa, the US embassy spokesperson in Kampala, said they are “deeply troubled
by credible reports of election irregularities … as well as security force
violence during the pre-election period.”
“We continue to voice our concerns and call for accountability with Ugandan authorities at the highest levels of government,” he noted, using the diplomatic euphemism of “highest level” that denotes head of state or government.
Washington
has not specified options that it is considering against specific Ugandan
security officials, and it remained unclear how such action could affect
military cooperation including the ongoing peace-keeping mission in Somalia,
where Uganda is the biggest troop contributor, and counter-terrorism operations
in the region.
In
an interview last evening, Uganda Media Centre executive director Ofwono Opondo
said America’s demand to audit Uganda’s polls is ironic considering that then
President Donald Trump alleged that he was rigged out while his successor,
Biden, accused his predecessor of inciting insurrection.
Supporters
of Mr Trump stormed the US Capitol in January in what turned out to be an
unsuccessful attempt to stop certification of the results of the November 2020
vote.
“Americans
should first address those issues before their government can ask for
independent inquiry into Uganda’s elections,” Mr Opondo said.
He
added: “[US Department of State spokesman Price] should remember that we
(Ugandans) have interests, both domestic and foreign, which we must pursue, defend
and protect. The interest of Uganda is supreme to Ugandans. We don’t believe
that the interests of Uganda and the US are mutually exclusive, although the US
sometimes is overbearing.”
Mr
Price on Tuesday said Uganda continues to play an “important role when it comes
to some of our interests in the region”, citing AMISOM.
“But, again, this goes to the point that … we can pursue our interests and
pursue our values at the same time,” he added in response to the demands for
election audit and punishment for transgressions.
“We
strongly urge [for] independent, credible, impartial and thorough
investigations into [election irregularities]. We will consider a range of
targeted options to hold accountable those members of the security forces
responsible for these actions,” Ned Price, US Department of State spokesperson
“We
(Ugandans) have interests, both domestic and foreign, which we must pursue,
defend and protect. The interest of Uganda is supreme to Ugandans,” Ofwono
Opondo, Uganda Media Centre executive director
“The
United States is deeply troubled by credible reports of election irregularities
during the January 14 polls, as well as security force violence during the
pre-election period,” Anthony Kujawa, US Kampala Embassy spokesperson
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