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The
Observatory has been informed about acts of harassment against the
human rights organisation Students for Global Democracy (SGD) and its
members, including the arbitrary arrest and subsequent release of SGD
Founder and Policy Advisor, Mr Mike
Gesa Munabi,
and SGD field officer, Mr Johnbosco
Mutyaba.
SGD is a student-led non-profit and non-partisan organisation founded
in 2005 that inspires young people, principally students, to adopt
and promote principles of leadership, good governance and
sustainability with the goal of greater youth participation in
democratic processes and sustainable development efforts in Uganda
and the outside world.
On
July 23, 2024, Johnbosco Mutyaba, was arrested at the Central Police
Station in Kampala as he sought the release of pro-democracy student
activists, with whom SGD works as part of their Uganda university
chapters. The students had been arrested following the
#march2parliament protests that took place the same day against the
rampant corruption in government institutions, especially the Ugandan
Parliament. Mr Mutyaba was released on the same evening on police
bond without any charge.
Previously,
on June 21, 2024, Mike Gesa Munabi was arrested by the police in
Iganga, north-east of Kampala, and subsequently released on state
bond on June 22, 2024. The trumped-up accusations laid against him
are “inciting violence” and “offensive communication”, which
appear to be related to Mike Gesa Munabi’s stances for democracy,
human rights and good governance, and particularly to his support of
50 pro-democracy youth activists who had been arrested by the
authorities on August 27, 2023 and September 2023. Upon his release
from prison, Mr Gesa Munabi was instructed to report to the police on
a monthly basis until his case is dismissed or sanctioned for a court
hearing. On July 7, 2024, he reported to the police for the first
time, and his police release bond was extended to August 9, 2024 when
he will have to report back on the status of his case. His case has
not been sanctioned for court hearing and therefore, at the time of
publication
of this Urgent Appeal, no date has yet been set for any court
appearance.
Messrs
Mutyaba and Gesa Munabi’s arrests are only the latest instances of
a widespread harassment against SGD and its members. The organisation
was subjected to multiple break-ins into its offices on December 2,
2023 and December 19, 2023, during which several items of office
equipment were vandalised and destroyed, as well as to acts of
intimidation and surveillance of staff members by suspected
government operatives. As a fervent defender of democracy and good
governance, SGD has been particularly targeted and harassed, in a
context of increasing tension ahead of the 2026 General elections. Mr
Samuel
Kayiwa,
Project officer of the “Human Rights and Civic Space for Students”
project of the NGO Global Democracy Uganda and supporter of SGD, has
also been receiving threatening calls and has been followed by
unknown people, which has caused fear and threats to his life.
Students
for Global Democracy intends to lodge a complaint with the Uganda
Human Rights Commission against the government for the continued
harassment of their staff and members.
The
Observatory recalls that this arrest is part of a persistent
crackdown on human rights defenders, organisations and civil society
in Uganda. The rights to freedom of expression and of association are
particularly limited, and human rights defenders are subjected to
moral and physical attacks, intimidation, threats and judicial
harassment. The Observatory recalls that in May and June 2024, 11
human rights defenders
suffered an alarming repression, including abduction, arbitrary
arrests and detentions, and judicial, physical and moral harassment.
The Observatory further recalls that in October 2021, several
human rights organisations were subjected to acts of intimidation
by the police of Uganda and several human rights defenders were
arrested, including
Joss Kaheero Mugisa,
Robert
Birimuye
and six African Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) members.
Furthermore, on August 20, 2021, AFIEGO, together with 53 other civil
society organisations, got unduly suspended
by the NGO Bureau on the grounds that the organisations were
allegedly found to be “non-compliant with the NGO Act, 2016”.
The
Observatory strongly condemns the arbitrary arrest and harassment of
Students for Global Democracy Uganda staff members, which only appear
to be aimed at punishing them for their legitimate human rights
activities. The Observatory further condemns the moral, physical and
judicial harassment of Students for Global Democracy and its members.
The
Observatory urges the Ugandan authorities to put an end to all acts
of harassment, including at the judicial level, and any act of
intimidation against Johnbosco Mutyaba, Mike Gesa Munabi, Samuel
Kayiwa, and all Students for Global Democracy Uganda members, as well
as against all human rights defenders in the country.
The
Observatory also calls on the Ugandan authorities to guarantee in all
circumstances the right to freedom of association as enshrined in
international human rights law, and in particular Article 22 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and
Article 10 of the African Charter On Human And People's Rights, to
which Uganda is a party.
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