{UAH} When will the Rwenzururu king get justice?

In November 2019, the Speaker of Parliament,  Ms Rebecca Kadaga, directed the Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs to present a report of its probe into the November 2016 killings when the army raided the palace of Rwenzururu King Charles Wesley Mumbere in Kasese District.
One year later, the report remains but a wish, while the Omusinga and hundreds of his subjects remain in incarceration. Back home, families of the deceased and the confined endure one tough day after another.

Before Kadaga's directive, Human Rights Watch had published their report on March 15, 2017, in which they called for the Ugandan government to conduct independent investigations to get to the bottom of the matter. The government developed cold feet, and its response indicated that there wasn't any goodwill to have this investigation done, let alone deliver justice. 
 
First, it was the then army spokesperson, Brig Richard Karemire, who was quoted by Human Rights Watch as saying there had been no investigation into the military's conduct and that none had been planned.  Then government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo released a statement arguing that the people who died in the 2016 massacre were "armed fighters".  He further claimed that since the matter was before court, any other investigations would be "untenable" as they would tantamount to subjudice. 

Obviously, Opondo's argument relied on a false and perverted application of the subjudice or pending litigation rule. People were shot, killed, arrested, detained and tortured. The government then decided to charge helpless civilians with serious crimes, including treason, illegal possession of firearms and several counts of murder.  

 Given that the crimes committed by civilians were purportedly investigated, does this mean the subjudice rule only works when it relates to crimes committed by security forces?  Just like Human Rights Watch noted, any such claims regarding the sub judice rule are irrelevant and nothing more than a weak effort to further block justice for the victims. Government, therefore, did a very good job proving that our laws are like spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.

To put all this into perspective, it must be noted that the Rwenzururu have never ridden on a smooth road since Independence.  During the early post-independence days, they operated under the rule of both the king of Tooro and an aloof central government. Neither party dealt sympathetically with the Banyarwenzururu, who felt excluded on several fronts. Poverty, injustice and gross inequality defined their lives. 

Still a small population then, they risked being eliminated by sheer administrative ruthlessness, amid a welter of suffering and sorrow. They, therefore, launched a struggle to settle for nothing short of total control of their domain and destiny. It was a long struggle whose fruits were achieved as recently as 2009 when the Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu was recognised by the government. Since then, Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere has reshaped the conviction of their identity and given them a glimpse of their magnificence.

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But given the subsequent violence visited on the civilians and the burning of the Omusinga's palace on November 27, 2016, the Banyarwenzururu ask these unanswered questions:
What must be done by the people of Kasese, the Omusinga and the incarcerated persons to be set free? Is the government planning to get them sentenced by court? If so, when? Is there a plan to pardon them? What safeguards have been put in place to ensure that ugly scenarios like the one that led to the 2016 crisis do not reoccur?

Ms Florence Kabugho is a concerned Kasese resident. florakabugho@outlook.com

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"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

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