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Uganda - Researched and Compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on Tuesday 11 April 2017

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Uganda - Researched and Compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on Tuesday 11 April 2017 Uganda - Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on Tuesday 11 April 2017 Information on the security situation in Western Uganda Voice of America states in November 2016 that: “Fierce fighting between security forces and a separatist militia believed to be loyal to a tribal king in Uganda's Rwenzori western region left at least 54 people dead, authorities said Sunday. Police spokesman Felix Kaweesi said 13 police officers and 41 militants had died Saturday in clashes in the town of Kasese, when the militia attacked patrolling security forces…The killings are an escalation of a long-running conflict between Ugandan security forces and rebels linked to a tribal king, Charles Wesley Mumbere, a critic of the country's long-time president…The western district of Uganda, where Mumbere is based, is a hotbed of opposition to President Yoweri Museveni, who lost there in the last presidential polls” (Voice of America (27 November 2016) At Least 54 People Killed in Uganda Fighting). In November 2016 Human Rights Watch states that: “Ugandan authorities should investigate the conduct of security forces in response to recent clashes in western Uganda, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces killed dozens of people and arrested at least 139 during violence on November 26 and 27, 2016, in the town of Kasese between Royal Guards of the region’s cultural kingdom, Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu (Bakonzo), and government forces” (Human Rights Watch (28 November 2016) Uganda: Investigate Killings in Rwenzori Region). This document also states that: “The Rwenzori region in western Uganda is the site of past violence. A Human Rights Watch investigation found that between February and April, 2016, members of the Bakonzo and Bamba ethnic groups clashed following contested local elections and political infighting, resulting in at least 30 deaths. During the subsequent law enforcement operations, the Ugandan police and military killed at least 17 people. One police officer and two soldiers were also killed” (ibid). A document issued in November 2016 by Amnesty International notes that: “The Ugandan security forces must not jettison human rights in their handling of the clashes in Kasese, which resulted in at least 62 deaths and hundreds of arrests over the weekend, Amnesty International said. Police say at least 46 of the local king’s guards were killed and 139 others arrested during clashes at his palace in the western Uganda town of Kasese. The king, Charles Wesley Mumbere, was also arrested” (Amnesty International (28 November 2016) Uganda: Denounce unlawful killings and ensure accountability in aftermath of deadly clashes). In December 2016 BBC News states that: “According to official figures, 62 people died in the shoot-out between Uganda's security forces and guards of the traditional ruler of the Bakonzo community, in the weekend attack. Hundreds more were arrested during the operation and remain in detention. King Mumbere himself was arrested, charged with murder and is still in custody. Both the government and army defended their actions, saying they had gone in to disband and disarm a group of militants who had been recruited, trained and armed by the kingdom establishment. Members of the so-called Kilhumira Mutima (the Strong-Hearted) group are said to be fighters for a movement that seeks to secede from the rest of Uganda and create its own Yiira Republic” (BBC News (3 December 2016) Uganda cracks down on 'dissenting' Rwenzururu kingdom). In March 2017 Human Rights Watch points out in a report that: “Killings by Ugandan military and police during joint operations in Kasese, western Uganda on November 26-27, 2016, warrant an independent, impartial fact-finding mission with international expertise, Human Rights Watch said today. On the bloodiest day, scores of people, including children, were killed during a military assault on the palace compound of the region’s cultural institution” (Human Rights Watch (15 March 2017) Uganda: Ensure Independent Investigation into Kasese Killings - Palace Attack Deaths Underreported; at Least 15 Children Still Missing). This report also states: “The violence began on the morning of November 26 in Kasese, where there has been longstanding tension between a local cultural kingdom and the central government. Soldiers, under the command of then-Brig.Peter Elwelu, forced their way into the kingdom’s administration offices in Kasese town. The soldiers killed eight members of the volunteer royal guards, who traditionally safeguard cultural sites. Many often carry agricultural tools, such as machetes, but are not formally armed by the kingdom or the government, and would not constitute an armed force or group under international humanitarian law. Witnesses said that the killings prompted widespread concern among those loyal to the king, and word spread quickly to outlying subcounties that the kingdom was under attack. That afternoon, civilians, including some royal guards, attacked six small police posts far outside town with machetes. In the ensuing violence, at least 14 police constables and one crime preventer were hacked to death and security forces shot 32 civilians. Most of the alleged attackers were killed in the clashes” (ibid). It is also pointed out in this report that: “There have been long-standing tensions, unresolved grievances and episodic violence between the government and the ethnic Bakonzo people of the Rwenzururu kingdom, headquartered in Kasese district. The role of cultural royalty in Uganda has been the source of debate historically and remains controversial. President Milton Obote outlawed all cultural royals in 1966, but President Yoweri Museveni permitted them to return in 1995, allegedly to win political support. In October 2009, President Museveni formally recognized the Kingdom of Rwenzururu, known locally as the Obusinga Bwa Rwenzuruuru and Charles Wesley Mumbere became the Omusinga, or king. The 1995 constitution bars these “cultural leaders” from partisan politics, but they wield influence over their communities, particularly during elections. Opposition politicians have increasingly won elections in Kasese in recent years, at least in part due to historical grievances of ethnic marginalization. Over the past three years, Human Rights Watch has repeatedly raised serious concerns regarding security forces’ use of lethal force during law enforcement operations in the region, the lack of credible investigations into the violence, and adhoc amnesties by the government for people arrested in these episodes. In July 2014, at least 92 people were killed and the government granted amnesty to more than 500 people. Between April and July 2016, Human Rights Watch found at least 13 of 50 people killed in operations in the Kasese subregion were unarmed and posed no imminent lethal threat to security forces. There has been little or no investigation of the conduct of government forces in these violent episodes or into the arrests of hundreds of civilians, some of whom have faced trial and convictions before military courts. In the months leading up to the November killings, the government said it was trying to break up an alleged armed movement in the region, known as Kirumiramutima (the Strong-Hearted), which it contends includes at least to some extent, members of the royal guards in the service of the Omusinga. Royal guards themselves are not an armed force and do not constitute an armed group under international humanitarian law. In late November, the army invited journalists to visit alleged camps of the armed movement that the military had raided in Kabarole district, north of Kasese, leading allegedly to the killing of at least 10 royal guards. The president then issued a directive for royal guards to surrender and be disbanded, the army spokesman said” (ibid). References Amnesty International (28 November 2016) Uganda: Denounce unlawful killings and ensure accountability in aftermath of deadly clashes https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/11/uganda-denounce-unlawful- killings-and-ensure-accountability-in-aftermath-of-deadly-clashes/ Accessed Tuesday 11 April 2017 BBC News (3 December 2016) Uganda cracks down on 'dissenting' Rwenzururu kingdom http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38169262 Accessed Tuesday 11 April 2017 Human Rights Watch (15 March 2017) Uganda: Ensure Independent Investigation into Kasese Killings - Palace Attack Deaths Underreported; at Least 15 Children Still Missing http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/337877/467781_en.html Accessed Tuesday 11 April 2017 Human Rights Watch (28 November 2016) Uganda: Investigate Killings in Rwenzori Region https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/28/uganda-investigate-killings-rwenzori- region Accessed Tuesday 11 April 2017 Voice of America (27 November 2016) At Least 54 People Killed in Uganda Fighting http://www.ein.org.uk/print/members/country-report/least-54-people-killed- uganda-fighting This is a subscription database Accessed Tuesday 11 April 2017 This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Refugee Documentation Centre within time constraints. This response is not and does not purport to be conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please read in full all documents referred to. Sources Consulted Amnesty International BBC News Electronic Immigration Network European Country of Origin Information Network Freedom House Google Human Rights Watch Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre International Crisis Group IRIN News Lexis Nexis Minority Rights Group International Online Newspapers Refugee Documentation Centre E-Library Refugee Documentation Centre Query Database Reliefweb Reuters United Kingdom Home Office United States Department of State UNHCR Refworld .
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