7-13 December 2016

1. Amnesty International Report Condemns Police Behaviour in Elections

State-Owned Media

New Vision, December 7^th 2015 - Police slams Amnesty International report

• Amnesty International on Monday released its report on policing in Uganda ahead of national elections in February 2016 taking a major swipe at the Uganda Police Force accusing it of increasingly targeting politicians and activists and also acting excessively.
• POLICE has rejected findings of the Amnesty International in a report released to the media describing it as a biased and one sided.
• “It was wrong for Amnesty International to castigate the Police on accusations that we used excessive force in cases of handling dissent. They should not have only focused on what happened in the media in compiling their report. They did not consider policemen as individuals who also have rights even when exercising their duties and the level of the public violence they had been subjected to while in the course of their duties,” Enanga said.

Privately-Owned Media

The Daily Monitor, December 8^th 2015 – Amnesty pins government on brutal arrests

• A new report released yesterday by the Amnesty International says police used excessive force to disperse supporters of key Opposition leaders between July and October.
• Dispersing the Opposition rallies, according to the report, hindered the ability of Ugandans to receive information in preparation for next year’s elections.
• The report, based on research done between September and November, describes the arrest of the independent candidate Amama Mbabazi and Forum for Democratic Change candidate Kizza Besigye on July 9 as “unlawful under Ugandan and international law”.

2. Tension at the South Sudan border

Privately-Owned Media

The Daily Monitor, December 9^th 2015 – Tension at border as South Sudan soldiers halt roadworks in Lamwo

• There was tension at the weekend at Musingo border point in Madi-opei Sub-county, Lamwo district, after armed South Sudanese soldiers confronted Chinese construction company workers on the 86.4 kilometre Acholibur Musingo road.
• It is alleged the commissioner for Ikotos county in Eastern Equatorial State, Mr Peter Lokeng, accused the road contractor and Uganda government of crossing into South Sudan by seven kilometers.
• In August this year, more than 200 armed militias from Magwi county in South Sudan entered nine kilometers into Ugandan territory at Lokung Sub-county in Lamwo claiming it belongs to them. They were later flushed out by the UPDF soldiers leaving one of the militias dead. About 400 cattle and 392 goats have been looted in Lamwo district since 2009, according to local officials.

3. Election Violence in Ntungamo

Privately-Owned Media

The Daily Monitor, December 13^th 2015 – Mbabazi, Museveni supporters fight

• What could have been a peaceful campaign rally for Go Forward ended in kicks and punches between the supporters of the ruling NRM party and the security detail of John Patrick Amama Mbabazi.
•  Police, which had been deployed to prevent any such occurrences was caught flatfooted and simply looked on.
• The altercation was just the climax of a situation that had simmered since morning. At around 2:00pm supporters from the two groups attacked each other in Kitwe town council when NRM supporters tried to block Amama’s procession.
• The Electoral Commission, at the beginning of the presidential campaigns banned counter rallies but has not responded to complaints from Mr Mbabazi’s team over the same. Even where the images have been telecast on national television, the EC chairman has simply asked police to investigate. No police reports on their findings have been made public