Ugandan’s have expressed mixed reactions following remarks by Jim Risch, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who accused Uganda of shifting from a reliable security partner to what he described as an “exporter of brutality.”
Risch’s comments came after a report by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan alleged that Uganda’s leadership supported joint aerial bombardments with South Sudanese forces that targeted civilian-populated areas.
“Uganda has shifted from a reliable security partner to an exporter of brutality. This evidence should kickstart a reassessment of our bilateral relationship. The Administration has implemented serious repercussions for those committing atrocities in South Sudan, and this is no different,” Risch said in a post on X.
The U.N. report alleged that joint airstrikes by South Sudanese and Ugandan forces targeted areas predominantly inhabited by the Nuer community, South Sudan’s second-largest ethnic group, in regions associated with opposition forces.
According to the report, Ugandan troops are currently deployed in South Sudan to support the government of President Salva Kiir in its conflict with forces loyal to opposition leader Riek Machar, who was suspended as vice president in September after facing criminal charges.
Ugandan military authorities maintain that their troops are in South Sudan at the invitation of the South Sudanese government under a bilateral security agreement.
Machar, who is currently on trial for several offences including treason, has denied the charges against him. Meanwhile, fighting has intensified in areas considered strongholds of his supporters as government forces attempt to suppress rebel groups.
The U.N. report also alleged that the attacks involved the widespread use of “improvised incendiary devices.”
Ugandan forces reportedly entered South Sudan in March 2025 with military hardware including tanks and armoured vehicles, shortly after a militia group overran a military garrison near the Ethiopian border.
Weeks later, Machar was placed under house arrest over allegations that he orchestrated the attack, claims he denies. Since then, government forces have increasingly relied on aerial attacks as the conflict widened.
Uganda previously intervened during South Sudan’s 2013–2018 civil war, when President Yoweri Museveni deployed troops to support Kiir’s government.
The U.N. report referenced a March 2025 airstrike in Wunaliet, about 15 kilometres from the capital Juba, where witnesses said aircraft dropped containers of flammable liquid that ignited homes. Survivors reportedly told investigators they saw civilians burned during the attack.
A military barracks housing opposition fighters was also struck.
Following the incident, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, posted on X claiming responsibility for bombing opposition forces.
“Our air offensive will not stop until Riek Machar makes peace with my uncle Afande Salva,” he wrote in a post that was later deleted. The post reportedly included a video appearing to show explosions filmed from an aircraft.
Flight-tracking data cited in the report suggested that a turboprop aircraft operating during the attack had earlier arrived from Uganda and was reportedly operated by the Ugandan army.
However, the report did not conclusively determine the full extent of Uganda’s involvement, noting only what it described as “high degrees of planning, operational integration and command-level authorization.”
In November, Uganda denied participating in combat operations in South Sudan and rejected allegations that it used chemical weapons or barrel bombs, insisting that it does not target civilians.
Human rights groups have also raised concerns. In 2025, Amnesty International alleged that Uganda violated a 2018 U.N. arms embargo on South Sudan by providing military assistance, a claim later echoed by a U.N. panel of experts.
The ongoing fighting threatens a fragile peace agreement signed in 2018. Recently, South Sudan’s military ordered U.N. peacekeepers to leave the town of Akobo within 72 hours as government forces clashed with opposition fighters in Jonglei State.
The remarks by Senator Risch have triggered reactions from Ugandan leaders and public figures.
Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS and wife of jailed opposition figure Kizza Besigye, welcomed the senator’s statement.
“General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has himself publicly boasted about UPDF brutality against South Sudanese civilians cited in the UN report. There is no denial,” she said.
Byanyima added that Kainerugaba had also previously made statements threatening opposition leaders, including Robert Kyagulanyi.
“Ugandans, South Sudanese, and all the people of our region deserve peace and professional armies accountable to elected civilian governments. Partner governments should not turn a blind eye to such serious human rights violations,” she said.
However, Uganda’s Minister of Agriculture, Frank Tumwebaze, strongly rejected the accusations and criticised Risch’s remarks.
“Your rhetoric and double standards are not only unfortunate but also nauseating. If you cannot comprehend the role Uganda has played in stabilizing the region, from Sudan to Somalia, then you are either lost or being pretentious,” Tumwebaze said.
He added that Uganda has contributed significantly to regional security, including peacekeeping missions such as the African Union force in Somalia.
Similarly, the State Minister for Youth and Children Affairs, Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, said the remarks unfairly overlooked Uganda’s contributions to regional peace and humanitarian efforts.
Barugahara noted that Uganda hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world and has played a key role in peacekeeping, counter-terrorism operations, and mediation efforts across East and Central Africa.
He emphasized that while Uganda continues to strengthen accountability and governance, constructive engagement and dialogue remain more effective than what he called “broad and damaging labels.”
Barugahara also expressed confidence that the longstanding partnership between Uganda and the United States would continue through mutual respect, factual understanding, and shared commitments to regional stability.
