Former minister without Portfolio Hajj Abdul Nadduli has said that United States sanctions on top army generals are clear indicators that the Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) is no longer a people army.
While speaking to local YouTube media channel-‘TMO online television’ over the weekend, Nadduli said the recent US sanctions on UPDF generals is a call for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to wake up and start carrying out investigations on violation of human rights by the UPDF.
“This is an indicator that in UPDF, top generals have a lot of freedom to committee atrocities that in turn have tarnished the image of the entire army. These sanctions also show that there is a lot of atrocities being committed by the generals within the national army,” he argued.
Nadduli added that President Museveni should be aware that the orders he gives to his men to execute are implemented badly.
“Because if we trace back in last general elections, many Ugandans were incarcerated, some of them are still in safe houses and they have not been brought to court. Even their parents have not seen them since last year.”
Nadduli alao noted that human rights abuses being committed by the army are against the objectives of the liberation war that brought the current government into power.
“After Museveni, Uganda my go into civil wars. We may go back in the era of UNLF because I don’t see anyone President Museveni has prepared to take over because he has not taken care of the young generals, that is why they are too arrogant and naïve. During Idi Amin’s time, his orders were respected but a few months ago, President Museveni passed an order to security officers not to brutalize civilians however after three-week news showed us how the army and police are brutalizing citizens. Now the question is, who is giving orders to our officers?” the former Luweero LC5 Chairperson wondered.
At the beginning of this month, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions on Uganda’s chief of military intelligence, Major General Abel Kandiho, over alleged human rights abuses committed under his watch.
According to the statement the Treasury issued, military intelligence officers have arrested, detained and physically abused Ugandans “due to their nationality, political views, or critique of the Ugandan government”.
Kandiho is also accused of holding Ugandans without legal proceedings, “subjected to horrific beatings and other egregious acts” including sexual abuse and electrocutions that led to long-term injury and even death.
Gen Kandiho joined a growing list of Ugandan security chiefs such as former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Gen Kale Kayihura to be sanctioned by the USA.
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