H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of the Uganda                         State House Nakasero, Box 25497, Kampla, Uganda

30.11.2014

Lwengo LC V brutality against the people is an abuse of power and is unacceptable

mutabazi

Mutabazi dressed in a hurt and a stick warning citizens

The Lwengo LC V Chairman Mr., George Mutabazi was recently caught on Camera beating his own people in what he calls enforcement of community service. This is brutality and the abuse of authority by the unwarranted infliction of excessive force by the above LCV Chairman to the innocent people in what he calls an aspect of law enforcement.

The Uganda’s legislation does not recognize community service as a legal obligation but rather a moral obligation which is voluntarily carried out by the Citizens if they wish so.  The Great Lakes Human Rights Link would like to share its concerns with the Ugandan Human Rights Organizations for an investigation in the above issues as soon as possible in order to deter similar scenarios by other law enforcement organizations in Uganda in Particular and in the great lakes in general.

While we recommend voluntary community service, we however, oppose in the strongest terms possible the abuse of power by government officials in the performance of their official duties. The term abuse of power is also applied to abuses by corrections personnel in municipal, state and federal penal facilities including military prisons.

While the brutality we witnessed on the recorded video was causing physical harm to the innocent civilians, we have serious concerns that it may also have involved psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned legal procedure. In the past regimes Uganda witnessed similar abuses by local officials but not as ugly aswe saw, where an official runs after civilians with a stick beating them as domesticated animals.

As I have mentioned above we call upon our partners in the defence of human rights to call accountability in those actions of the LC V Chairman and if there is any abuse of power, he should be held accountable.

At this stage we have an assumption that Mr George Mutabazi’s brutality against his own Citizens might not have been acted with the implicit approvals the government’s national policy. In the modern Uganda we don’t expect an individual who engage in cases of any brutality to cover his actions under the government national policy, or to appear as if he did it with the tacit approval of his superiors. Indeed, Mr. Mutabazi should be investigated and if possible a commission of inquiry is established, he should therefore be held fully accountable for his actions.

Noble Marara

Secretary General

Great Lakes Human Rights Link.

greatlakeshumanrightslink@gmail.com

+447429014688

CC

Inspector general of Uganda police Kale Kaihura

London Metropolitan Police

Boarder Force Home Office United Kingdom

http://www.greatlakeshumanrightslink.com/uganda-mutabazi-lcv-brutality-against-the-people/