May 26, 2017•Update: May 26, 2017
By Halima Athumani
KAMPALA, Uganda
An international rights group Friday called on the government of Uganda to invite United Nations for investigation into killings in western Uganda.
Talking to journalists in the Uganda’s capital Kampala Friday, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) official said: “The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extra Judicial killings should be invited as a step to establish a fact pattern of what occurred that could pave a way for a proper investigation.”
Today marks six months since the Uganda People’s Defence Forces in a joint offensive with police raided Rwenzururu Palace in the western district of Kasese, killing over 100 people.
Justifying the attack, the government accused local King Charles Wesley Mumbere’s royal guards of attacking security personnel and different security installations in 2016.
The king and 150 other people are on remand and facing charges of terrorism, murder and treason.
Maria Burnett, Associate Africa director at Human Rights Watch, accused the government of showing “real unwillingness” to investigate the killings.
She revealed that various international partners have extended an offer to help investigate the incident.
“There has been an offer from international partners, various European Union countries and the United States for forensic investigations support,” Burnett said and asked the government to accept their assistance.
Human rights watch together with local human rights groups in Uganda are questioning as to why no military or police have been charged for their conduct during the violence.
However, Uganda Human Rights Commission said they carried out an investigation into the Kasese incident and dispatched its recommendations to various government ministries and President Yoweri Museveni.
