The United States government has imposed sanctions on several senior officials of the Uganda Police Force, citing their involvement in gross violations of human rights.
According to a U.S. State Department statement, the targeted officials have been allegedly been implicated in numerous incidents of what it calls brutality and unlawful actions against civilians, particularly during Uganda’s 2021 elections and subsequent protests.
U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, made the announcement, stressing that the sanctions are part of Washington’s broader effort to promote accountability for human rights abuses worldwide. The individuals designated by the sanctions have been accused of orchestrating acts of violence, including unlawful detentions, excessive use of force, and extrajudicial killings.
Thwy include: Bob Kagarura, who was the Wamala Regional Police Commander at the time; Alex Mwine, the former District Police Commander for Mitanya District; Elly Womanya, who served as a Senior Commissioner in the Uganda Police Force and Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigations Division overseeing the Special Investigations Unit (SIU); and Hamdani Twesigye, the former Deputy Inspector of Police assigned to the SIU.
These sanctions mean that the officials and their immediate family members will be barred from entering the United States, and any assets or properties under U.S. jurisdiction may be frozen. Blinken’s statement highlighted that the sanctions align with the U.S. Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, aimed at penalizing individuals who are responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses.
The sanctions are expected to put a strain in relations between Uganda and the U.S., particularly in the context of Uganda’s controversial Anti-Homosexuality Act, which has already led to freezes in financial aid and strained diplomatic exchanges.
The Ugandan government has not yet issued a formal response.
