On November 18, 2020, the Joint Security Task Force in Busoga North arrested Kyagulanyi and Pastor Andrew Muwanguzi ahead of their rally at the Ssaza Grounds, Luuka town council in Luuka district.
Interviewed then, police spokesperson Fred Enanga said the two were arrested for violating the Electoral Commission and ministry of Health Covid-19-related guidelines.
“The two were actively involved in the massive mobilization of unauthorized assemblies and processions amidst the threat of Covid-19 in Uganda. The majority of the participants had no safeguards of face masks, physical distancing, and proper hygiene,” Enanga said in a statement then.
PROTESTS
The arrests, however, sparked sporadic protests. Protesters demanded the immediate release of Kyaggulanyi. Police and the army were dispatched to quell the riots in various parts of the country. The security responders fired live ammunition, and teargas, and beat protests killing an estimated 54 people including women and children.
President Yoweri Museveni acknowledged that indeed 54 people were killed in the crackdown on the November 18 and 19 riots. He said the army used live ammunition because they were handling rioters.
Museveni later said the riots were funded externally to destabilize Uganda. He directed security agencies to publicize the report into the killings and ordered the prosecution of the implicated security personnel prosecuted.
Speaking during the commemoration of the International Labour day in May 2021 at Kololo ceremonial grounds, Museveni condemned the reckless shootings of rioters and said the government will compensate all victims. He, however, said, his government will only compensate 22 people. The rest, 32, he said were rioters.
“Everybody knows that the government I lead cannot condone the reckless shooting of people. When it happens, we act. I have all the files of the people that were shot on November 18 and November 19. I am following them,” Museveni said on Labour day in May 2021.
Several entities and organizations have since condemned the November 2020 shootings and called for an independent inquiry into the killings.
“On this day 18 months ago, Ugandan security forces killed more than 50 people. The Ugandan people deserve a full, transparent accounting for these killings and those responsible must be brought to justice. Security force accountability is fundamental to trust between citizens and government,” the USA embassy, Kampala said in a statement last week.
Interviewed for this story, Enanga said the comprehensive report into the November 2020 shootings was released and can only be accessed through writing to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Martins Okoth-Ochola and paying about Shs 60,000 to Shs 70,000.
He said some of the perpetrators who included civilians and two UPDF officers were charged before the General Court Martial (GCM) and police are looking for more culprits still at large.
“There are several investigations, which were done. Some people appeared before the court and some reports were sent to several human rights defenders; so, it is difficult to follow up on those cases,” he said.
“Police are not involved in compensation of victims. The office of the Attorney General does that. We had a very hostile and fast-moving scenario and several stray bullets, which were not directed at particular individuals. There are several cartridges which were discovered,” he said.
“I made an argument sometime back that the best way to get sufficient evidence is when a bullet is dislodged from the body. That is sufficient to trace who really discharged the bullet given the fact that all police guns were fingerprinted. That was a bit of a challenge as far as the investigations are concerned,” Enanga said
Waiswa Mufumbiro, the deputy spokesperson of NUP, said, “There is no such report. If it had been released, it would have been in the media. So, if the media has not accessed it, then it is nowhere.”
“Mr. Enanga lied to the United Nations Human Rights Commission that they had compensated journalists including Ashiraf Kasirye who was hit by a stray bullet while covering Bobi Wine’s campaign in Masaka. Those are deceitful people. You cannot wake up in the morning and take their word,” Mufumbiro said.
He said none of the victims has been compensated. But to kill people and think of compensating relatives is not right; this is a bad regime, he added
The Observer, however, could not verify how many victims were compensated because Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka was not available for comment.