{UAH} UK parliament notified about police brutality

UK parliament notified about police brutality

Written by OUR REPORTER

Last Updated: 21 October 2015

A policeman firing teargas

A Ugandan in the United Kingdom has written to the British Parliament asking it to intervene in the way police in Uganda arrests female opposition members. UK is a major donor of financial aid to Uganda.

In a letter dated October 16 and addressed to Jane Ellison, the MP for Battersea constituency, Thomas Ddumba, a UK-based lawyer, tells the British Parliament that such acts, if not stopped, will deter women from joining politics.

"As my MP and a minister in the UK government, I request you to bring the above brutality of women in political leadership in Uganda to the attention of the UK government that can put pressure on the Ugandan government as women's rights should be respected and their participation in Uganda's political process," he writes.

On October 10, Zainab Naigaga, an FDC activist, was stripped naked by police officers as they tried to arrest her along Masaka-Mbabara road. She was part of a group of party members headed to the western Uganda district of Rukungiri for a party meeting.

This incident drew anger and outrage from many people, including some supporters of the ruling NRM party. Police chief Gen Kale Kayihura said last week that he would meet and apologise to Naigaga.

Ddumba also wants the UK government to investigate reports by BBC that a UK-based firm, Gamma, sold surveillance technology to Uganda to aid it to spy on political opponents.

He wrote: "Last year Gamma was criticised in a ruling by the UK National Contact Point for the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD said the company's approach to selling technology was "not consistent with the general obligations to respect human rights".

Ddumba wants the UK government to ensure that all future exports of surveillance technologies, including the export of monitoring centres, are "assessed in accordance with human rights criteria and an assessment of the legal framework in the country of destination governing the use of the technology."

HRW CONDEMNS POLICE VIOLENCE

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a statement released on October 19 added its voice on those who have criticised the police for using highhanded methods while dealing with opposition members.

The human rights watchdog says police response to opposition gatherings has been a source of serious human rights violations in recent years. They cite instances when the police has used excessive force, such as when former prime minister Amama Mbabazi's consultation meetings for his presidential bid were blocked in eastern Uganda.

"Ugandans have the right to gather and hear information, never more so than when an election is coming up," the statement quotes Maria Burnett, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, as saying. "The reckless use of tear gas is injuring people and jeopardising a free and fair democratic atmosphere for campaigns."

The human rights watchdog wants the government to condemn police interference with peaceful opposition rallies and publish guidelines on police use of tear gas that comply with international standards.

The statement partly noted: "As a riot-control method, tear gas should be used only when necessary as a proportionate response to quell violence. It should not be used in a confined space, and canisters should not be fired directly at any individual, and never at close range.

International guidelines, such as the United Nations Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, stipulate that the police are expected to use discretion in crowd control tactics to ensure a proportionate response to any threat of violence, and to avoid exacerbating the situation."

newseditor@observer.ug

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