Nigerian human rights lawyer Femi Falana has filed a complaint to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention over Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine’s house arrest.
“Nigerian human rights lawyer Femi Falana has filed this complaint on my behalf to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Arrest. We are challenging my continued illegal confinement by the Ugandan police and the military,” Bobi Wine tweeted on Wednesday.
In his complaint, Falana, a human rights activist and senior advocate of Nigeria said the government of Uganda was Arbitrarily depriving activist, musician and politician Bobi Wine of his liberty and continues to arbitrarily put him and his wife Barbara Itungo Kyagulanyi under house arrest, detained incommunicado and without access to the outside world including his lawyers.
He added that Bobi Wine and Barbara are being illegally detained for days without any criminal charges preferred against him.
“I’m therefore seeking an opinion from the Working Group finding the house arrest and continuing detention of Mr Wine and his wife to be arbitrary and in violation of Uganda’s constitution of 1995 as ammended and obligations under the international human rights law including the international covenant on civil and political rights and the African charter on human and people’s rights to which Uganda is a state party,” Falana noted in his petition dated 18 January 2021.
Following the January, 14 election, security put Bobi Wine’s home under siege and up to date, he is still kept indoors. He was the closest challenger of President Yoweri Museveni in the just concluded general elections.
The police spokesperson, Fred Enanga on Monday said the siege at Kyagulanyi’s home will continue for an unspecified period of time as a way of preventing any form of violence that he said is being planned by certain individuals and groups of people.
“There have been information of certain political parties and certain individuals coming up with plan B to instigate riots in protest of outcome of elections. That’s why we have maintained a security cover around Kasangati and Magere, including the home of hon. Kyagulanyi,”Enanga said.
“Hon Kyagulanyi is not under house arrest and his lawyers can visit him.”
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