The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao has been put on task to release all political prisoners including legislators Hon. Muhammad Segirinya (Kawempe North) and Hon. Allan Sewanyana (Makindye East).
In an intention to sue notice seen by this website, a group of activists under their umbrella body – the Independent Activists for People’s Freedom threatened legal action against Mao and the Attorney General over the continued detention of MPs, and other Political Prisoners currently held on politically motivated charges.
In the August, 18 notice, the group’s Chairman Andrew Alphonse Mukasa Bajjo, through his Lawyers, Zenith Advocates, Prudens Law Advocates and Mbidde & Co. Advocates, notes that the MPs should be released unconditionally since they have been detained for over eight months in contravention of their constitutional liberties.
” The above named Honorable Members of Parliament have been incarcerated for a period of over eight months on charges of murder and terrorism and have been deprived of their rights to liberty and employment enshrined in Articles 23,24,28 and 40 of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda,” Bajjo said.
” We further wish to inform you that hundreds of political prisoners have been incarcerated without trial in various prisons countrywide right from the time of the commencement of the 2021 elections,” he added.
Bajjo reminded the Minister and the Attorney General that it is against both the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights to which Uganda is a signatory.
The group this demands that Mao calls for a meeting between its leadership and Lawyers to deliberate on how to resolve the issues raised, without which they are to rally their membership to stage mass demonstrations aimed at regaining freedoms for their fellow activists.
Norbert Mao, the President General of the Opposition Democratic Party- DP was named to Museveni’s Cabinet on 21st, of last moths, a day after signing a cooperation Agreement on behalf of the party he leads, with President Museveni and NRM. He has since been the centre of attention concerning how the government moves forward as far as resolving the question of political prisoners is concerned.
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