Human Rights Defenders have voiced grave concern over the deafening silence from key international actors as Uganda experiences a surge in human rights abuses.
This alarm follows an admission by Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who publicly confessed to abducting Edward Ssebufu commonly known as Eddie Mutwe, the chief civilian bodyguard to National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine. Gen. Muhoozi brazenly declared that Ssebufu is in his custody.
The Defenders argue that this is not law enforcement, but terrorism. They condemned the general’s inflammatory Twitter posts, stating, “These are not just reckless outbursts, they expose a regime emboldened by impunity.”
They called on the United States to break its silence and publicly condemn these blatant human rights violations, asserting that, “Silence is complicity.”
“From open threats of beheading critics to actual abductions, torture, and enforced disappearances, these are not isolated events. They represent a systematic, calculated campaign of terror against civilians,” the Defenders said. “These actions violate every fundamental human value that the United States claims to uphold.”
They further criticized U.S. financial support for the Ugandan regime, which reportedly receives over $1 billion in American taxpayer money annually.
“This isn’t just passive complicity it is active sponsorship,” they charged. “The question must be asked: Is this what American interests look like in Uganda? Because for those on the ground the activists, the journalists, the families torn apart it looks like betrayal. It looks like blood on your hands.”
The Defenders also condemned the European Union’s continued engagement with Uganda’s military leadership, particularly Gen. Kainerugaba dubbed “The Butcher” by many Ugandans.
“Do you not see what your support legitimizes? Do you not hear the cries of mothers whose sons have vanished? Or is African suffering just background noise to geopolitical convenience?” they asked.
They went on to say that Africa is rising not just economically or culturally, but politically. “Africans are waking up to the hypocrisy the way democracy is preached but dictators are propped up; the way human rights are championed in press briefings, yet trampled under boots on our streets with Western support.”
“For Uganda, this has meant more than 40 years of stalled development, fear, and repression,” they added. “This is why the youth are speaking out. This is why people across the continent are pushing back. We are demanding accountability not charity. Justice not partnerships with tyrants.”
They urged Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), to condemn these atrocities, halt all support to the Ugandan junta, and stop funding repression with U.S. tax dollars.
David Lewis Rubongoya, Secretary General of the National Unity Platform, echoed the concerns, saying Gen. Kainerugaba’s intent is to sow fear and despair.
“Many of us who know and love Eddie Mutwe couldn’t sleep last night,” Rubongoya said. “But there is a silver lining. In this triumphant parade of brutality, the world is being shown evidence that was once hidden. In the past, people only saw pictures of Makindye Military Barracks and the State Research Bureau after the regimes fell. Today, we are seeing images and accounts of torture while the regime is still in power.”
He concluded, “We now have someone publicly taking credit for torture, admitting to crimes against humanity. Perhaps, one day, these images and tweets will serve as evidence in a court of law. Give it time.”
The Source Reports.
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