 Amnesty International reports torture and arbitrary arrests against Ugandan opposition supporters as President Museveni seeks to extend his 40-year rule.
NAIROBI: Amnesty International has accused Ugandan security forces of using torture and arbitrary arrests to intimidate the opposition ahead of elections.
President Yoweri Museveni (pic), 81, is seeking to extend his 40-year rule amid accusations of increasing repression.
The rights group said it gathered evidence of security officers beating and using tear gas against supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP).
NUP is led by singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, 43, who also contested the disputed 2021 election.
“The authorities have launched a brutal campaign of repression against the opposition and its supporters,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty’s regional director for east and southern Africa.
An NUP supporter was killed at a rally in November.
Police said they were dispersing a violent crowd, but the deceased’s family told Amnesty they were barred from the postmortem and never given a death certificate.
Amnesty compiled a tally of 400 people arrested for supporting the NUP in recent months.
Four interviewees told Amnesty they were beaten with batons, pepper-sprayed in the mouth, and tasered.
“They started pepper spraying us and pulled me out of the vehicle into a police truck,” one anonymous interviewee said about a rally in Kampala.
There are fears the government will shut down the internet during the election as it did in 2021.
Imports of Starlink equipment were banned last month, with reports that the company has agreed to a total block on its use in Uganda.
