The opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party has insisted that the government of Uganda should produce more than 20 supporters who went missing during the January 2021 general elections.
On Monday, June 26, 2023, NUP Secretary General, MP Lewis Rubongoya, issued the statement as the world marked the International Day in support of victims of torture under the theme “Stop Torture, Rebuild Lives of Survivors for Sustainable Development.
Rubongoya believed that their missing supporters could have been kidnapped or arrested by the security operatives during various opposition protests held around the Central Region.
In an interview with Nexus Media, Rubongoya said they are yet to receive the response they filed at the International Criminal Court (ICC) after being frustrated by the local mechanisms.
He added that laws like the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act of 2012 that gave effect to the obligations of Uganda as a state party to the United Nations Convention against torture and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment have not been fully implemented.
“We condemn torture; it is adherent. It is unfortunate that Uganda is one of the countries where so much torture continues to take place. As you know, NUP has been on the receiving end of torture. Many of our people are still missing. Almost everyone who is abducted comes back with torture marks,” said Rubongoya.
He added that torture is both psychological and physical, and therefore it has been a tough time dealing with all the victims of torture at the hands of the state.
According to him, Nobody knows the whereabouts of their supporters, including John Bosco Kibalama and Damulira John, among others.
On January 23rd, 2023, the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) confirmed that only seven out of the 25 people that were reported by NUP had been released and maintained that efforts to trace the missing ones were still underway.
Mariam Wangadya, the Chairperson of the UHRC, said that the alleged missing persons should not only be looked at as NUP supporters but as Ugandans.
She later tasked NUP to provide detailed information, including National Identity Numbers (NIN), among others they believed to be missing.
The commission, under Article 52 (2) of the constitution, has the mandate to protect and promote human rights.
