Uganda generals under fire over US visa ban

By Robert Mukasa and Ernest Jjingo, KAMPALA Uganda

The USA threatened action against human rights abuses in Uganda for months in 2020 and last Friday an official travel ban was announced against unnamed high-profile government officials shining critical light on an increasingly important question: How damaging are the existential consequences for such banishment for the country and certainly the sanctioned individuals?

Though no names were mentioned, at least we have an inkling of who must be on the travel blacklist. When Congressmen began pushing the outgone Donald Trump administration last October for a more muscular response to what they described as “human rights abuses in Uganda and the country’s slide toward authoritarianism, the lead campaigners brandished a list of errant Ugandan officers that should be sanctioned.

The list featured mainly men in security and law enforcement jobs with all tools of coercion, who were at the frontlines of enforcing law and order in the run-up to the January 14, 2021 general elections.

The then Democratic chairman of the USA House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel, and the most senior Republican on the panel, Michael McCaul, asked the USA government last October to punish seven top Ugandan security officials under the Global Magnitsky Act for their role in rights abuses.

In the letter to Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the congressmen said Museveni’s government had a history of repression including attacks on independent media, arrests and torture of opposition leaders and supporters, and a failure to prosecute those responsible for extrajudicial killings.

“Diplomatic rhetoric alone has had little impact on President Museveni’s behaviour. Instead, he has further consolidated power while preventing the emergence of a viable democratic opposition,” the letter said.

The letter asked for seven military officials to be personally sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky sanctions programme including; Lt Gen Peter Elwelu (Commander of Land Forces, for his role in the 2016 killings in Kasese), Maj Gen James Birungi (Commander of the President Museveni’s elite force – the Special Forces Command [SFC]), Maj Gen Don William Nabasa (former SFC Commander), Maj Gen Abel Kandiho (Director, Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence [CMI]), Maj Gen Steven Sabiiti Muzeyi (former deputy Inspector of General of Police and now General Manager Luwero Industries), Commissioner of Police Frank Mwesigwa and Col. Chris Serunjogi Ddamulira, the director of Crime Intelligence in the Uganda Police Force.

In an apparent response to that plea, Mike R. Pompeo in a tweet said Uganda was a long-standing partner and Washington expected its partners to hold free and fair elections.

“We are paying close attention to the actions of individuals who seek to impede the ongoing democratic process,” he said.

Pompeo said the USA would not hesitate to consider serious consequences for those responsible for election-related violence and repression

And last Friday, the USA Secretary of State, Anthony J Blinken announced that the US government had imposed visa restrictions on Ugandans involved in undermining the democratic process in Uganda.

In a statement posted on the USA Department of State website, Blinken said, “The government of Uganda’s actions during the recent electoral process undermined democracy and respect for human rights. Today I am announcing visa restrictions on those believed to be responsible for or complicit in undermining the democratic process in Uganda including during the country’s January 14th elections and the campaign period that preceded it.”

The statement further said the Uganda government’s actions represent a continued downward trajectory for the country’s democracy and respect for human rights as recognized and protected by Uganda’s constitution.  “Opposition candidates were routinely harassed, arrested and held illegally without charge. Ugandan security forces were responsible for the deaths and injuries of dozens of innocent bystanders and opposition supporters as well as violence against journalists that occurred before, during and after elections.”

The statement also noted that civil society organizations and activists working to support electoral institutions and transparent electoral processes have been targeted with harassment, intimidation, arrest, deportation and spurious legal charges and denial of bank account access. The government limited accreditation for international and local election observers and civil society but those who were able to observe the process noted widespread irregularities before, during and after the election which undermined its credibility.”

“This electoral process was neither free nor fair. Nevertheless, we continue to urge all parties to renounce violence and respect freedoms of expressions, assembly and movement. The government of Uganda must significantly improve its record and hold accountable those responsible for flawed election conduct, violence and intimidation,” the statement reads.

Blinken said the USA government will continue to evaluate additional action against individuals complicit in undermining democracy and human rights in Uganda, as well as their immediate family members.  “The United States also emphasizes that we strongly support the Ugandan people and we remain committed to working together to advance democracy and mutual prosperity for both our countries,” the statement concludes.

And when he delivered on-camera remarks on April 4 while presiding at the release of the 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Blinken said the trend lines on human rights continue to move in the wrong direction. 

“We see evidence that in every region of the world this is happening. We see it in the genocide being committed against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang; the attacks on and the imprisonment of opposition politicians, anti-corruption activists, and independent journalists in places like Russia, Uganda, Venezuela.” 

“…We will use a broad range of other tools to stop abuses and hold perpetrators to account. One way to do that is by working with the United States Congress, which has passed laws providing new authorities to sanction human rights violators, things like the Global Magnitsky Act, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, other pieces of important legislation, and continues to demonstrate a bipartisan commitment to promoting human rights.

“Another way is by imposing consequences through economic sanctions and visa restrictions, as the United States did recently in unity with Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom on individuals engaged in atrocities being committed against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

“And we will find ways to incentivize countries to take positive steps toward respecting human rights, such as through trade benefits and development aid.”

Through his Twitter account, the USA Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Senator Bob Menendez tweeted, “I welcome the visa restrictions on those depriving Ugandans of their democratic rights. It’s time to get tough with the Museveni regime. The USA must stand firm in its commitment to defend human, civil and political rights and multiparty democracy in Uganda and throughout the region.”

Nicholas Opiyo, a human rights lawyer and founder of Chapter Four Uganda, an NGO defending civil liberties through legal response, said visa restrictions target individuals not a country and, therefore, the greatest impact is going to be on those particular individuals who have been highlighted for undermining democratic processes.

He said the restrictions show that there are deep concerns growing inside and outside the country about the trajectory of Uganda’s democracy.

“Uganda’s democratic credentials continue to decline and this reduction appears to have been wrongly rejected by our government for being unfair and so these restrictions are only a practical manifestation of those rejections. They will redefine the relationship between our country and development partners especially when they see that our electoral process is not free and fair,” he said.

“These restrictions do mean a lot for the government because they are being imposed by people who finance our budget and economy. The USA government injects over Shs 3 trillion every year in various government projects; so, when they speak, our government has to listen and assure us that there are private discussions among diplomats to understand the implications of this issue and try to reverse course,” he said.

Opiyo said the restrictions are by nature private; so, the names of those affected cannot be published but the person gets to know he or she is on the blacklist when they apply for the visa.

Interviewed for a comment, Okello Oryem, the minister of state for Foreign Affairs, said it is very unfortunate that the United States government “whom we have always had a good relationship has issued sanctions against individuals in Uganda on very flimsy and unfounded basis.”

“The government of President Museveni has always been a strong believer in the constitution, democracy, human rights and good governance. But on all occasions we make mistakes like any other government, even the USA itself makes enormous mistakes but we do not comment on it. We acknowledge the mistakes that were made during elections and we are making prior investigations and those individuals who will be found to have made those mistakes will be brought to book,” he said.

Oryem said the USA is very gullible to everything they hear from the opposition, novices and sympathizers of the opposition without them first thoroughly investigating for the facts and engage government on those facts to hear our side of the story.

“As far as we are concerned, we are saddened and disappointed at the rush in which these sanctions were imposed against us. However, we as the NRM government have got the full mandate of the people for the next five years to manage this country. We are not shaken, we are firm and committed to continue fulfilling the mandate the people gave us without losing even an iota of sleep,” Oryem said.

He said much as the USA has not released the list, he is sure the sanctioned individuals have no wish to travel to the USA or any European country because they would rather comfortably travel to their villages to look after their cows and be with their families than going to the USA where there is a high probability of police shooting them on the streets.

Even though such sanctions may give a bad image to the country, Oryem said there is no need to worry about Uganda’s image abroad because the ordinary people on the streets of these foreign countries do not believe in the stories about Uganda being a dangerous country.

“Every year Uganda is ranked among the best destinations to go to in the world, which means our image internationally is good. But we shall continue working hard to correct our mistakes, bring to book those who breach the laws, enhance and improve on our democracy, human rights and democratic governance just like other countries because even the USA are not saints when it comes to this matter,” he said.

When the USA imposed sanctions under the Global Magnitsky sanctions programme against former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Gen Kale Kayihura in 2019, his larger-than-life persona diminished. He lost his freedom to roam the globe and his personal wealth stashed abroad was frozen.

Kayihura and his immediate family members were sanctioned and designated under the Magnitsky Act. That simply meant they cannot be issued with a United States visa and will have their properties, which he fully owns, or partly owns with others in the USA frozen.

In the statement by the US Department of Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Kayihura was accused of having been a leader or official of a police force that engaged in or whose members have engaged in serious human rights abuse against Ugandan citizens, as well as for his involvement in corruption. 

The statement also said that all property and interests in property of Kayihura, and of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 per cent or more by him alone or with other designated persons, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of USA persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. 

OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by USA persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. Kayihura, who was Uganda’s longest-serving police boss for 12 years, was sacked in March 2018 and replaced by his deputy Martins Okoth Ochola.

Before the sanctions drop, investigations must be done. This means the USA government investigates the individuals for alleged human rights abuses while at the same time monitors their movements and gathers any information regarding assets and dealings both in Uganda and abroad.

On the surface, a sanctioned individual under the Magnitsky Act is barred entry into the US and any assets he or she owns there are frozen. According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, The Magnitsky Act, formally known as the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, was a bipartisan bill passed by the USA Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 2012, intending to punish Russian officials responsible for the death of Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison in 2009 and also to grant permanent normal trade relations status to Russia.

Since 2016, the Act, which applies globally, authorizes the USA government to sanction those who it sees as human rights offenders, freeze their assets, and ban them from entering the USA But the law has in some form or shape been embraced by the European Union.

Effective December 21 2017, US President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13818, which was the first implementation of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act under which the USA government imposed sanctions against 13 individuals described as “human rights abusers, kleptocrats, and corrupt actors.”

The individuals sanctioned included; Yahya Jammeh, former president of The Gambia, and Roberto Jose Rivas Reyes, president of Nicaragua’s Supreme Electoral Council. An additional 39 affiliated companies and individuals were also sanctioned by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

According to The Economist, Dan Gertler, an “Israeli mining billionaire” who is a longtime close friend of Joseph Kabila, former president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for decades, was also listed in President Trump’s EO Annex and placed on the OFAC financial sanctions list.

In March 2019, the European Parliament passed a resolution 447–70 in favor of passing a Magnitsky Act for the European Union. On July 6, 2020, United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced the first sanctions under a law similar to the Global Magnitsky Act, where 47 individuals came under travel restrictions and asset freezes.

The regulations were meant to give the government power to impose sanctions on those involved in the worst human rights abuses around the world. The law has since gotten a very long arm stretching across Europe that could complicate the lives of people sanctioned by America.

“Gen Kayihura is now doomed if he needs to travel to Europe or owns any assets there,” a security official told The Observer on condition of anonymity.

“It has also become risky for the seven (army and police officers) on the US watch list to travel abroad and if they own anything there, now is the time to dispose of them as soon as possible.”

The administration and enforcement of these sanctions are delegated to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a financial intelligence agency that operates under the US Department of the Treasury. At the moment, Kayihura is included in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list, a ‘blacklist’ maintained by OFAC. 

Under the Magnitsky Act, every international company or financial institution that engages in international transactions must be cautious or completely avoid business transactions with a sanctioned individual. A company that deals with them risks US financial sanctions and penalties.

In fact, the US offers no excuse for ‘We did not know’ as a defense and any company that does so risks $1m (Shs 3.7bn) fine. Interviewed for a comment, an official at the Uganda Banking Association who preferred anonymity, said all the seven military officers on the US watch list have been red-flagged as ‘top risk.’

“We cannot tell whether they will be sanctioned or not and given that their fate is not in their hands, banks have been warned to be extra careful when dealing with the seven,” she said.

“This is a caveat because a financial institution risks losing money if it continues to transact business with them and they end up being sanctioned.”

Similarly, the situation is not any different in the insurance sector. An official from the Insurance Regulatory Authority said there is no need for panic. However, he warned that insurance companies may be hesitant to enter any deals in which the named seven have a hand.

“At the moment, they are on a yellow card; who in their right sense of mind can risk doing business with them when you know the next day it can be frozen and you lose money,” he said.

“From an individual level, them being government officials will not deny them health insurance but accessing specialised healthcare abroad may now be difficult.”