Post-election violence grips Uganda

By Halima Athumani

KAMPALA, Uganda

Seven people were killed in western Uganda on Friday night in the latest incident of post-election violence.

Televised footage broadcast on local stations showed police and soldiers opening fire on civilians at close range in Kasese district.

The 27-second film showed uniformed troops entering a village amid chaotic scenes in which some villagers are seen armed with sticks and stones. Security force members can be seen running forward as shots ring out and one villager is seen collapsing. A second villager then picks a stone and is also shot down.

“These people attacked our barracks and wanted to slaughter our soldiers,” Lt. Amos Nzamba, army spokesman for the Rwenzori region, told Anadolu Agency. “We had to kill them as a last resort.”

Livingston Sewanyana, executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, describing the killings as “unfortunate” and said Kasese has been “a hotbed of conflict, being [as] it’s an opposition stronghold”.

He added: “Those are acts of panic and the army has gone ahead to use disproportionate force. They should exercise restraint and adhere to the conduct of law enforcement.”

Calling for an immediate investigation, Sewanyana said the outbreak of killings should be viewed in the context of last month’s presidential election that saw incumbent Yoweri Museveni retain his 30-year grip on power.

Opponent Kizza Besigye has rejected the results as fraudulent and has been under virtual house arrest for weeks.

Violence broke out Wednesday, triggered by ethnic conflicts stemming from municipal elections. Security forces were deployed to conduct night patrols to calm the situation.

According to local media, a group of more than 60 people armed with guns, spears and machetes attacked and injured three soldiers on Thursday night in Hima, Kasese district, before soldiers killed two people.

The killings sparked a wave of arson attacks and inter-communal violence that saw five people killed by security forces.

On Friday, the U.S. State Department accused the government of violating its citizens’ rights and shackling the media in the aftermath of the presidential election.

In a statement, spokesman John Kirby called for "prompt action to reverse troubling post-election trend".

He added: “Actions of the Ugandan government and its security forces are unacceptable in a free and democratic society.”