On Tuesday, a group of 50 members of the Torture Survivors of Uganda led by the Nansana LC5 Councillor John Bosco Sserunkuuma petitioned the United Nations to discontinue funding of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) which they rendered incompetent and accused of bowing to President Museveni’s demands.
Speaking to The Fatboy Show Presenter Olive Najjuma on today morning, the Councillor said that the commission’s leadership is corrupted since its chairman is appointed by President Museveni.
“The UHCR leadership condemns Ugandans of criticizing the police when we all know that in this country, police lives on complete impunity and tortures Ugandans. Why should UN money go to such an institution that defends police and other armed services that torture us?” he questioned.
Sserunkuma added, “We want to challenge the UN’s funding to an institution which never responds to torture and all forms of human rights abuse. The funding goes out to an institution that never cares for the people it's supposed to but rather defends the acts of torture by Museveni's government.”
He alleges that he was abducted and tortured by the military at the CMI headquarters in Mbuya and the UHCR never came to fight for his rights.
“I was abducted which is illegal and tortured in Mbuya military facility for almost a month and then a case was forged against me that required me to be tried in the military court, being a civilian, this is also out of the law. I was then sent to a prison where I spent 9 months of illegal remand which is out of the mandatory time of 120 days according to the case.”
“But because of bad governance and negligence of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, I had to serve 10 months and no one bothered about my human rights, not even the Commission,” he said.
In response to the accusations, the UHRC said that they had put in all necessary efforts to condemn torture through the different addresses they made through the media and fighting for justice for victims such as Novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija who recently fled the country.
Moving on, the Councilor said that if the UN doesn't respond to their plea, they will seek other legal means of obtaining justice and appeal to other funders of the Commission to withdraw any support they render to it.
“We are still taking other means like challenging the constitutional mistake which gives Museveni the powers to appoint the chairperson of the UHRC and yet the whole world knows that he's the perpetrator of human rights abuses in our country. We shall take all those measures until justice prevails,” he assured.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, Sarah and Lesham every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.