Youth protest in Uganda to mark November killings

KAMPALA, Uganda

Uganda youths yesterday held a demonstration as they marked two years since the shooting of dozens of suspected protesters in different parts of the country following the arrest of National Unity Platform leader, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, in Luuka District during the 2021 presidential elections.

During a televised address days after the protests, President Museveni said 54 people were killed, of which 32 were rioters while 20 were hit by stray bullets.

Although he promised to compensate the families of those who lost their lovely ones, many of the victims that were paraded at the Uganda Human Rights Accountability Conference, which was organised by the Kenya Human Rights Commission at Ufungano House in the Nairobi yesterday, said they had never got any help.

Mr David Musiri, a NUP supporter, said he narrowly escaped death since he was in Luuka when the security personnel arrested his colleagues.

“We are here to raise our voices to condemn the acts of dictators,” Mr Musiri said yesterday.

He said he was rushed to a health facility in an ambulance after being assaulted by security personnel.

The demonstrators asked God to punish those who killed their loved ones.
At least 54 people were shot dead by security personnel in different areas after the arrest of Bobi Wine.

Others were arrested and reportedly tortured in detention for days before being dumped at night miles away from their homes. Some of those arrested are still missing, according to their relatives.

Mr Museveni said at least 50 missing persons were detained by the Special Forces Command (SFC), a military unit that protects the President and carries out special operations.

The SFC was then headed by Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the First Son.
President Museveni promised that the government would carry out an investigation into the shootings but they have not yet been done.

Meanwhile, Opposition politicians yesterday met in Nairobi, Kenya, demanding accountability from the Kampala establishment about the dozens of people who were killed during the November 18, 2020 riots.

The sporadic protests ensued across the country, especially around the central region after the arrest of National Unity Platform (NUP) party presidential candidate, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, in Luuka District before he was driven to Nalufenya Police Station in Jinja District.

Bobi Wine and Dr Besigye appealed to the international community to join hands with Ugandans in such times as loss of lives during a political activity, indicating that their silence could affect the way human rights violations are viewed.

Opposition leaders also condemned what they called abductions of their supporters who later appear on various media platforms with torture marks.

“People in the West only know Idi Amin as a torturer, they don’t know that Mr Museveni has done worse atrocities than the one they know. The people that are being picked from their houses and streets in drones replicated more torture than that of Amin,” Dr Besigye said.