Originally posted for The Organization for World Peace at http://theowp.org/sporadic-uprisings-in-the-rwenzori-region/
Kasese is a district in the western region of Uganda bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This region is no stranger to conflict and in fact was the base of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in the last two decades. This particular rebel group was easy to counter but also took place in the shadow of the Lord’s Resistance Movement (LRA) that plagued Northern Uganda. There have been conflicts especially in the past five years notable in 2010, and 2012 when one of the tribes installed their king resulting into protests. In 2014, there was a guerrilla style attacks on Army and Police barracks that saw some lives lost and early in 2016 there were post-election protests. This history indicates that dissidents continue to sprout every now and then. This may also be why the government has acted with such a stiff hand in ensuring that another uprising does not gain traction.
This story comes on the heels of the latest conflict that saw at least 74 people dead. It is still not clear the exact number of people that actually lost their lives. The latest of these attacks was on 27th November 2016 when the Uganda Police Post in the area was attacked by royal guards and guns allegedly stolen. This resulted into the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) swinging into action by taking on the situation as a defence matter.
This particular conflict can be traced to the over 5 tribes in the Rwenzori Region. In Uganda’s Constitution Article 246 recognizes the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders however forbids them from participation in partisan politics. In 1993, the Rwenzururu Kingdom was officially recognized and their King as well in 2009. However this didn’t please the Tooro kingdom from which they had years before seceded, as well as the other tribes that didn’t get this kind of official recognition. Hence these on and off conflicts could be tribal clashes. The way they are being handled however, indicates that there’s probably more than meets the eye especially in looking at election results and the support to the opposition in the region.
However this alone is not the problem. While Uganda is lauded as having one of the strongest military and intelligence in the East African region, sometimes actions like this come into the public eye and criticism is spewed. It is not difficult to understand why. For instance in this latest incident, some journalists were arrested and spent some time in custody without any charges being pressed or their families being informed. Yet Uganda’s Constitution in Article 26 guarantees the right to personal liberty and that a person shall not be held over 48 hours without charge and if arrested, restricted or detained is entitled to rights such as being informed of the reasons, informing the next of kin, lawyer and personal doctor.
It is a tight rope to walk between matters of national security and human rights protection. Many activists came up to demand the release of the journalist and the media cried out about media and press freedom but that is not enough. The reality is that whenever there’s an affront to human rights it jeopardizes the order of peace and that alone is a threat to peace. The King of the Rwenzururu now stands charged with murder.
LUMINOUS 