By Caroline Kanshabe
Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Gen. David Muhoozi, has said that most of the alleged missing persons have never been reported to the police.
While presenting a statement on the alleged enforced disappearance of persons during the plenary sitting on Wednesday, Muhoozi stated that, according to the law and official practice, a missing person’s report must be filed for one to be declared a missing person.
“This can only be done with the police, which was not done and is still being resisted by the people approached,” Muhoozi said.
He added that some cases, where the Leader of the Opposition Mathias Mpuuga attributed alleged disappearances to security operatives, had been reported earlier by the relatives of these people as unwitnessed disappearances.
“The cases of Kasumba George and Kisembo Godfrey fall into this category. Regarding the case of Kibalama John Bosco, his vehicle was reportedly found abandoned along the road, and all his belongings at the time were intact in the vehicle, including a mobile phone, laptop, and an iPad,” said Muhoozi.
The minister noted inconsistencies in the numbers and testimonies in the various claims of reported disappearances, presented to the Uganda Human Rights Commission and the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights.
He also mentioned that the alleged missing persons’ next of kin have declined to give statements to the police, making it difficult for the government to conclude investigations.
“In a nutshell, lack of cooperation and the refusal to report, coupled with the other concerns raised in this response, make it extremely difficult to get to the bottom of the matter of alleged disappeared persons,” said Muhoozi.
Speaker Anita Among said Parliament would take a decision on the report after the LOP’s rejoinder to the minister’s statement.
It’s worth noting that these came after nearly two months when opposition members of parliament announced boycotting plenary sittings, protesting what they describe as widespread human rights violations in the country.
Mathias Mpuuga, MP for Nyendo-Mukungwe in Masaka City and the leader of the opposition (LoP), articulated six critical issues that require the government’s satisfactory response before they consider returning to the House. These issues included the unresolved disappearance of 18 supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP) political party, missing for over two years.
The opposition also demanded an end to the alleged targeting and victimization of Muslims, the detention of political dissenters without trial, and the reported human rights violations against fishing communities.
Additionally, they were calling for a halt to the shrinking of civic space, highlighting concerns over the treatment of politicians and media personnel, and urging an end to the practice of trying civilians in military courts, which contradicts several Constitutional court rulings.
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