UGA 002
/ 0917 / OBS 102
Shooting
/
Judicial
harassment
Uganda
September
21, 2017
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a
partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests
your urgent intervention in the following situation in Uganda.
Description of the situation:
The
Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the shooting of Mr. James Rukanpana, as well as of the
judicial harassment of Messrs. Suleiman
Trader, Jackson Magezi, Fred Kyaligonza and Prosper
Businge, members of the Twerwaneho
Listeners Club (TLC)[1]
in the Rwenzori region of Western Uganda.
According to the information received,
on September 12, 2017, Mr. James
Rukanpana was shot in both legs by armed guards hired by Ferdsult Engineering
Services Limited[2]
in Kasenda, Western Uganda.
Recently, Mr. James Rukanpana has been advocating
for the rights of local communities, and has been opposing the takeover of over
20 crater lakes by Ferdsult Engineering Services Limited. He has actively
participated in radio talk shows and mobilized communities on the issue.
In addition, on July 28, 2016, TLC and local
communities filed a civil court case (HCT 01-CV-MA 062) before Fort Portal High
Court against Ferdsult Engineering Services Limited and Kabarole District Local
Government to secure the rights of the local communities to access crater lakes
for water and domestic fishing. On June 7, 2017, the court found that the
exclusive use of crater lakes by Ferdsult Engineering Services Limited
following the lease by Kabarole District was an abuse of the rights of local
communities, and ruled in favour of local communities.
Mr. James Rukanpana had been instrumental in the
success of the court case and had transported local people who use crater lakes
to attend court sessions in Fort Portal. An appeal has been filed by Ferdsult
Engineering Services Limited and is currently pending determination.
The shooting incident against Mr. James Rukanpana
follows a pattern of harassment against TLC members who have been threatened,
assaulted and judicially harassed by Ferdsult Engineering Services Limited
since 2016.
Parallel to the civil case filed by TLC against
Ferdsult Engineering Services Limited and Kabarole District Local Government, a
criminal case filed by Ferdsult Engineering Services Limited has been targeting
Messrs. Suleiman Trader, Jackson Magezi, Fred Kyaligonza and Prosper Businge,
four TLC members who had challenged the legality of Ferdsult Engineering Services
Ltd’s acquisition of 20 crater lakes and eviction of communities in Kabarole
District.
After being briefly detained on April 28, 2017,
Messrs. Suleiman Trader and Jackson Magezi were released on April 29, 2017, on
court bail pending trial.
On May 3, 2017, the four human rights defenders have
been charged under criminal offenses related to the use of explosives,
electronic gadgets and the poisoning of fish under Chapter 197 of the 1970 Fish
Act following allegations by Ferdsult Engineering Services Limited. If
convicted they would face up to seven years in jail.
The criminal charges against the four human rights
defenders had initially been suspended pending the resolution of the civil
court case filed by TLC against Ferdsult Engineering Services Ltd. The criminal
case has been suspended again pending the appeal procedure in the civil
complaint.
In addition, the Observatory recalls that for his
human rights work, TLC member Mr. Erasmus Irumba
was shot dead on June 23, 2017[3]. As of publication of this appeal, the trial
of five suspects was ongoing before Fort Portal Magistrates Court pending its
transfer before Fort Portal High Court.
The
Observatory condemns in the strongest terms the shooting of Mr. James Rukanpana and urges
authorities in Uganda to adopt effective measures to ensure the protection of
human rights defenders in the country. The Observatory calls for an immediate,
thorough, impartial and transparent investigation without undue delay into the
incident as well as into the killing of Mr. Erasmus Irumba and for those
responsible to be held accountable.
The
Observatory also condemns the judicial harassment against Messrs. Suleiman Trader, Jackson Magezi, Fred
Kyaligonza and Prosper Businge and urges authorities in Uganda to put an end to
all acts of harassment, including at the judicial level, against them and all
TLC members.
Actions requested:
Please write
to the authorities in Uganda asking them to:
i. Guarantee
in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights
defenders in Uganda;
ii. Carry
out an immediate, thorough, impartial, and transparent investigation into the
shooting of Mr. James Rukanpana
as well as into the killing of Mr. Erasmus Irumba in order to identify all
those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, and sanction them
as provided by the law;
iii. Put
an end to all acts of harassment, including at the judicial level against Messrs. Suleiman Trader, Jackson Magezi, Fred
Kyaligonza and Prosper Businge and all TLC members so that they are able
to carry out their work without hindrance;
iv. Conform to
the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted
by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in
particular with its Articles 1, and 12.2;
v. Ensure in
all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms
in accordance with international human rights standards and
international instruments ratified by Uganda.
Addresses:
•
President Kaguta Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, Fax:
+256 (0) 414 436 102 / + 256 41 4235459 / +256 41 4344012. E-mail:
museveni@starcom.co.ug / aak@statehouse.go.ug
• Mr. William Byaruhanga, Attorney General, and Hon. Kahinda Otafiire,
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs of Uganda, Fax: + 256 41
4250829. E-Mail: mojca@africaonline.co.ug
•
Mr. Mike Chibita, Director of Public Prosecutions, Ministry of Justice and
Constitutional Affairs of Uganda, Fax: +256-414-258-565/341-316, Email: admin@dpp.go.ug
• Ms.
General Jeje Odongo, Minister of Internal Affairs of Uganda, Fax: + 256
414343088
• Mr Med
Kaggwa, Chairperson, Uganda Human Rights Commission, Email: uhrc@uhrc.ug
Telephone: +256414348007
• Gen.
Kale Kayihura, Inspector General of Police, Telephone: +256 (0) 712 755 999
• H.E.
Mr. Christopher Onyanga Aparr, Permanent Mission of Uganda to the United
Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: + 41 22 340 70 30. Email: mission.uganda@ties.itu.int
• H.E.
Ambassador Mirjam Blaak Sow, Embassy of Uganda to the EU in Brussels, Belgium.
Fax: + 32 2.763.04.38. Email: ugembrus@brutele.be,
info@ugandamission-benelux.org
Please
also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Uganda in
your respective country
***
Paris-Geneva, September 21, 2017
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal
in your reply.
The Observatory for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997
by FIDH and OMCT. The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedy
situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are
both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights
Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
· Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
· Tel and fax FIDH: + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
· Tel and fax OMCT: + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
[1] Based in the Rwenzori region of Uganda, TLC broadcasts
weekly programs on human rights education, performs capacity building to
enhance the ability of human rights defenders to perform their activities in
the region, provides civic education, monitors and documents human rights
violations, and challenges unlawful government actions in court.
[2] Ferdsult Engineering
Services Limited is an Uganda-based engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) company. An agreement between Ferdsult Engineering Services Limited and
Kabarole District Local Government Council gave Ferdsult Engineering Services
Limited sole access to the 20 crater lakes in the Rwenzori Region of Uganda. On
November 11, 2016, Ferdsult Engineering Services Limited applied for an interim
order to stop communities from fishing in the 20 crater lakes. The order was
issued by the Deputy Registrar of Fort Portal Court, permitting only Ferdsult
Engineering Services Limited access to fishing in the lakes.
[3] See the Observatory Urgent Appeal UGA 001 / 0717 / OBS 077, published on July 5, 2017.
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