The United States has cast more light on the financial sanctions it slapped on the Chief of Military Intelligence (CMI), Maj Gen Abel Kandiho, indicating it had engaged in a series of talks with Ugandan government officials over human rights abuses and violations.
The spokesperson of the US Embassy in Kampala, Mr Anthony Kujawa, said in a statement on Thursday that the US had expressed its concerns about human rights violations through dialogues with government officials and in official publications.
“We have expressed our concerns about acts of torture, extrajudicial killing, disappearances, and other human rights violations both publicly, including through the US Department of State’s annual Human Rights Report, and in private through dialogue with a wide range of Ugandan officials,” Mr Kujawa said.
Mr Kujawa was responding to comments made by the spokesperson of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Brig Gen Flavia Byekwaso, who on Tuesday described the US’ decision to sanction Gen Kandiho as a “unilateral financial sanction”.
READ ALSO: USA SLAPS SANCTIONS ON MAJ GEN KANDIHO
Brig Gen Byekwaso also accused the US of taking the decision without giving Maj Gen Kandiho a fair hearing.
“As a country and UPDF in particular, a reputable government institution, we are disappointed that such a decision could be made by a country we consider friendly, a partner and a great ally, without due process and in total disregard of the principle of fair hearing coupled with failure to make the necessary consultation…” Brig Gen Byekwaso said.
But Mr Kujawa said the US commitment to ensuring that those who violate the rights of others has always been known.
“The United States is committed to promoting accountability for those responsible for human rights violations and abuses… Our position on these issues is well known,” Mr Kujawa said.
No time lines, no redress
Whereas Brig Gen Byekwaso was concerned that Gen Kandiho was not given a fair hearing, the biggest concern should be that the sanctions slapped on him and Gen Kayihura before him might not have an expiry date.
“There is no time limit on these designations,” Mr Kujawa said.
The embassy also did not provide information on where a person sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act could run to for redress.
In February, following the January 14 General Election, Opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye, accused the US and the rest of the international community of doing nothing to address the increasing human rights violations, including abductions, torture and killings.
But Mr Kujawa, in response to the accusations then, said the US government would work to ensure that whoever was implicated in any abuses would be held to account.
“The United States has made it clear that we would consider a range of targeted options, including the imposition of visa restrictions, for Ugandan individuals found to be responsible for election-related violence or undermining the democratic process,” Mr Kujawa said.
Higher sanctions
In February, Mr Kujawa alluded to the possibility of the US pegging its continued financial and military support on the conduct of government officials.
“We have significant concerns about Uganda’s recent elections, however, and the conduct of the Ugandan authorities during those elections is one factor that will be considered as we make determinations on future US assistance,” Mr Kujawa then warned.
Uganda would in that event stand to lose a lot, according to Ms Amy Petersen of the US Embassy. She said the US invests almost $1 billion (about Shs3.6 trillion) annually in Ugandan communities, working hand-in-hand to promote economic growth and employability, to improve health and education, to uphold democratic values, and to strengthen security.
Silence on visa restrictions
On April 16, about two months after Mr Kujawa made the comments, the US Secretary of State, Mr Anthony Blinken, imposed visa restrictions on at least 12 Ugandan officials who were accused of having undermined the democratic process before and during the January elections.
Reports in sections of the local media suggested that some government minister and technocrats had been denied visas to enter the US, but the identities of those who could not get visas has remained a subject of speculation. Mr Kujawa still declined to tell the press which Ugandan officials had been targeted.
“Under US law, individual visa records are confidential. We could not provide details on who was affected then and we cannot do so now,” Mr Kujawa said.
The sanctions against Maj Gen Kandiho came just days after the US left Uganda out of the 110 state actors, 39 from Europe; 27 from the Americas; 21 from Asia and Pacific; four from South Central Asia; two from the Middle East and; 17 from Africa, that United States’ President, Mr Joe Biden, invited to a virtual democracy summit that ran from Thursday to Friday.
Mr Phillip Kasaija Apuuli, who teaches Political Science and Public Administration at Makerere University, told this newspaper in an earlier interview that the cold shoulder was a sign that Uganda, which has been considered a key ally of the US, had fallen down the pecking order on the list of countries considered key allies.
But Uganda’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs in-charge of International Affairs, Mr Henry Oryem Okello, described the US brush aside as a “big mistake” on the part of the American government.
Mounting pressure
Gen Kandiho became the second highest ranking Ugandan military officer after the former Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, to be sanctioned by the US, with watchers of developments in Washington and in Kampala suggesting that the moves should not be coming as a surprise.
“You know the critical sentiments that the Americans have raised and keep raising on the issues of democracy, gay rights and human rights. All that is part of the conversation on democracy.
We have a government which is not committed to those things so why would it be invited to a summit on democracy?” Mr Apuuli asked in an earlier interview.
In October 2020, Congressmen Engel and Michael McCaul asked the US government to punish seven Ugandan security officials, including Lt Gen Peter Elwelu, Maj Gen James Birungi, Maj Gen Don William Nabasa, Maj Gen Abel Kandiho, Maj Gen Steven Sabiiti Muzeyi, Commissioner of Police Frank Mwesigwa and Col Chris Serunjogi Ddamulira, the director of Crime Intelligence in the Uganda Police Force, under the Global Magnitsky Act for their roles in rights abuses.
The US was the first to condemn the November 18, 2020 killing of 54 people and wounding of several others in protests and riots that broke out in Kampala and other towns following the arrests of Opposition leaders, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi of the National Unity Platform (NUP), and Mr Patrick Oboi Amuriat of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
Mr Kujawa, however, declined to say whether the decision to sanction Gen Kandiho was either precipitated by the two congressmen’s call or the November riots.
He only said: “The US Departments of Treasury and State continuously assess actions that may amount to gross violations of human rights. Designations are made only after completion of a rigorous review process. As provided for under the US law, some designations are public, while others are private, depending on the particular circumstances and the specific sanctions-related law that is being applied,” Mr Kujawa said.
What Government says
Late last month, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs in-charge of International Affairs, Mr Henry Oryem Okello, said the US’ condemnation of Uganda was down to its failure to appreciate the conditions in which other parts of the world operate.
“Because they don’t appreciate the structures and how systems in many parts of the world operate, and they simply believe that because they are a world power, they can get their way hence the many mistakes they’ve made,” the minister said.
However, President Museveni in a televised speech made early in August condemned acts of torture carried out by members of the armed forces and warned against barking at or beating and detention of suspects for long periods and deportation of foreigners without trial, saying such actions disadvantage the country.
«Beating captives is wrong. Why? You undermine your case in court — when the court discovers that you got information through torture. Secondly, on account of beating, somebody may admit what is not true. Torture, assassination, et cetera, are used by lazy people who are not ready to do more work using gaps in the stories of the criminals if they are telling lies,» Mr Museveni said.
The President promised in the address that focused on only human rights issues to eliminate acts of torture, which he blamed on individual officers and failure by senior commanders to give appropriate instructions to those under their command.
It was not clear whether he made the address in response to the contents of the “2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices”.
Background
US Concerns
● suppression of freedom of expression and muzzling the media; censorship;
● arresting without warrants;
● detention of suspects beyond the mandatory 48 hours allowed by the Constitution;
● denial of fair public trials;
● arresting suspected sympathisers of the Opposition on trumped up charges and;
● arbitrary interference with privacy.
● torture and degrading treatment
● extrajudicial killings
● undermining the democratic process
● Pathetic conditions in detention centers
