In the regime crackdown on the streets of Kampala in November 2020, during the general campaign for the general elections in 2021, more than 50 people were shot and murdered. Regime proxies defended the use of live ammunition by claiming that the security forces were responding to rioters.
Today, on the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, we stand in solidarity with the innocent lives lost during the tragic events in Kampala as a result of state-sponsored terrorism in Uganda. We continue to demand justice for these victims.
Video Credit: @BBCAfrica .
Olivia Lutaaya. 30-year-old mother of two and a supporter of the National Unity Platform. She has spent a combined total of nearly 3 years in detention without trial, alongside other comrades.
She was first arrested with the rest of my campaign team in December 2020 and detained for several months without trial until she was given bail by the military court. A few months after her release, around May 2021, she was abducted and held incommunicado for weeks, undergoing torture.
Later, she was produced before the Military Court Martial without the knowledge of her lawyers and family, charged with illegal possession of military equipment, and then remanded to prison. Upon learning of this development, our legal team filed a bail application for her and others but the military court took over 9 months just to fix it for hearing. The application was finally heard but summarily dismissed!
Several other bail applications have been denied by the military court over ridiculous grounds. Last month, the kangaroo court added on Olivia's file a further charge of Treachery, prompting a protest from Olivia and her co-accused persons.
As day follows night, there will be accountability for these crimes against humanity!
#FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #BringBackOurPeople #WeAreRemovingaDictator
Very pleased to meet with comrade Bingi Max, this time not in a prison uniform! Before his arrest and detention in 2020, comrade Max was very actively engaged with the struggle for a better country. He never missed an opportunity to put on his red #PeoplePower attire and go everywhere preaching the message of change. After several warnings, he was arrested and slapped with tramped up charges under the computer Misuse Act. He has spent 3 years and 6 months in detention at Luzira. Over the years he spent there, he has been receiving many of our comrades at Luzira and helping them 'settle in.' We visited him a number of times in prison and he always maintained a positive outlook despite the persecution! Last week, the High Court quashed his conviction and set aside his sentence. The price of freedom!
Welcome back comrade. Aluta continua!
The abductions persist, this time with comrade Kalyowa Ivan Kayiwa being one of the latest victims. On the night of 15th July, Kayiwa was abducted from his workplace by military officers travelling in a UPDF truck. He has not been seen or heard from since then.
We continue to condemn this abuse of citizens' rights, and the regime's use of security agencies in persecuting its opponents! As the case should be with other victims, we demand that comrade Kayiwa be released immediately or subjected to the due process of the law if he committed any offence.