A wealth of testimony from more than 200 people accusing senior Ugandan officials, including the president and his son, of torture, killings and other crimes against humanity has been submitted to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said. Tuesday.
The filing is an effort to launch an international investigation into what human rights observers have called a brutal crackdown by the government against opposition groups and activists in the East African country in the months before and after the bloody 2021 elections.
The brief accuses nine top Ugandan officials of abuse, including President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country with an iron grip for nearly four decades, and his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is seeking to succeed his father.
A total of 26 officials are charged with complicity in the imprisonment and systematic mistreatment of Ugandans, particularly supporters of the musician-turned-opposition leader Bobi Wine, a presidential candidate in the 2021 election.
The Ugandan president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Andrew Mwenda, a spokesman for the president’s son, said in a text: “Were they tortured? YES! Who directed it? We have to find out. It makes sense for them to impeach a son of the president, as it raises awareness of their case and also boosts their political battle against “the president.”
It can be months or even years before the International Criminal Court, or ICC, announces whether it will investigate a case. Karim Khan, the court’s chief prosecutor, previously said his office is understaffed and underfunded and overwhelmed with investigations, including allegations of war crimes in Ukraine and Afghanistan.
The prosecution may be reluctant to investigate Uganda’s allegations, some analysts said. The court has been heavily criticized for prosecuting most cases in African countries, even though some were opened at the request of African governments.
The filing was presented to DailyExpertNews by Bruce I. Afran, an attorney based in Princeton, NJ, whose team collected the testimony. He also represents several leading opposition figures in Uganda.
In the documents, activists, opposition leaders and government critics described being waterboarded, flogged and stabbed, thrown with chemicals at them or forced to lie next to corpses.
The indictment accuses Mr. Museveni of direct responsibility for the torture because he is the commander of the armed forces.
The allegations could fuel criticism of Museveni’s government, which recently passed a sweeping anti-gay law that human rights groups consider one of the strictest in the world.
An ICC investigation could also complicate succession politics in Uganda ahead of the 2026 election. General Kainerugaba, 49, has made it clear that he wants to replace his 78-year-old father. But he has irked the older man with provocative tweets, including the idea of invading Kenya.
Uganda is a party to the Rome Statute which has established the ICC since 2002 – even though Mr. Museveni criticized the court and threatened to withdraw.
Tom Maliti, an investigator who has followed cases at the ICC, said: “The prosecutor’s office is very aware of the criticism they have directed at Africa.”
The court’s lawsuits against government officials in Africa have been unsuccessful, he noted, adding that any prosecution should depend on the cooperation of the Ugandan government to gather evidence and question potential witnesses.
Most of the witnesses are anonymous as many are still in Uganda, Mr Afran said. But several others, who sought asylum in Europe or the United States, are mentioned. They include Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, a prominent writer, and Amos Katumba, the founder of a non-governmental organization that works with Mr. Wine to projects.
Many testified that security forces broke into their homes and arrested them or took them out onto the street in unmarked vans. They said they were beaten, burned with hot irons, electrocuted, forced to eat feces, forced to drink urine, or had their teeth removed.
Mr Museveni has acknowledged that hundreds of what he called “terrorists” and “lawbreakers” had been arrested during the election season, and that an elite commando unit led by his son killed “a few”.
Four victims, including Mr. Rukirabashaija, say in the briefing that the president’s son went to see them in detention. Mr Rukirabashaija, who has written two books denouncing the president and the ruling party, was arrested in late 2021 after mocking the president’s son on social media.
Mr Rukirabashaija told The Times last year that he had been flogged and had his thighs plucked with pliers in prison, where General Kainerugaba had visited him three times. On Tuesday, the general’s spokesman denied that the two had ever met.
When he was released last year, Mr. Rukirabashaija fled the country and now lives in Germany.
“The rule of law in Uganda does not function because the courts are subservient to the government,” he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “I hope we can find justice now.”
Marlis Simons contributed reporting from Breval, France.
