Femi Falana
President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni who has dominated his nation for over 30 years has been dragged to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UN-WGAD) for putting his major opponent within the controversial election held within the nation final week on home arrest.
Nigerian human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) dragged Museveni to the UN accusing him of illegally detaining his major opponent within the just lately concluded presidential election, Bobi Wine.
Wine, whose actual title is Robert Kyagulanyi, has raised the alarm constantly over harassment by safety businesses since he determined to problem Museveni within the election.
He was presidential candidate of the Nationwide Unity Platform (NUP) within the January 14 election which Museveni was introduced by the nation’s electoral physique to have received.
In line with outcomes launched by the electoral physique, Museveni polled 5.85 million votes to defeat Wine who secured 3.48 million.
Wine, nonetheless, rejected the election outcomes, saying he had proof of widespread voting fraud.
Wine and his household have been put underneath home arrest by the federal government because the election.
In a petition filed on his behalf, Falana mentioned Wine and his spouse had been being illegally held incommunicado with out satisfactory provision for meals.
He mentioned the singer had additionally been denied entry to his legal professionals in a bid to stop him from submitting a petition in opposition to the declaration of Museveni because the winner of the extremely flawed presidential election.
The petition learn, “Mr. Wine and his spouse are being illegally detained for days with none prison fees most popular in opposition to him. He has additionally been denied satisfactory provide of meals by lots of of Uganda army forces and policemen who’ve laid siege to his home for the umpteenth time since election day.
“There is no such thing as a authorized foundation for Mr. Wine’s home arrest and steady detention which has spiralled into a number of days. It will be recalled that Mr. Wine’s challenger and incumbent president, Yoweri Museveni has been declared winner of the presidential election.
“Thus far, no proof of any wrongdoing for the arbitrary and illegal home arrest, detention, steady detention and assault of Mr. Wine, his spouse and home workers has been established. These arbitrary acts are a transparent breach of Mr. Wine’s proper.
“The detention is unfair underneath Class I as a result of it doesn’t have any authorized justification. The detention is unfair underneath Class III as a result of the federal government’s detention of Mr. Wine collectively together with his spouse failed to fulfill minimal worldwide requirements of due course of.
“I’m subsequently looking for an opinion from the Working Group discovering the home arrest and persevering with detention of Mr. Wine and his spouse to be arbitrary and in violation of Uganda’s Structure of 1995 (as amended) and obligations underneath worldwide human rights regulation, together with the Worldwide Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Constitution on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Uganda is a state occasion.”
Falana, subsequently, requested the UN group to demand the unconditional launch of Wine, his household and workers.
Wine tweeted on Tuesday that his household had been caught with a child for the times that they had been underneath home arrest.
He tweeted, “Day Six underneath home arrest and we’re nonetheless caught with an 18-month-old child who had paid a go to to her auntie (my spouse) earlier than we had been raided & besieged. The dad has been denied entry to her. We have now run out of meals and milk. Nobody is allowed to depart or come into our compound.”
Wine had earlier informed FRANCE 24 that his life and that of his spouse had been in peril as the federal government continued to maintain them underneath home arrest.
Wine mentioned troops raided the headquarters of his occasion, Nationwide Unity Platform, on Monday as workers tried to organize a authorized problem to Museveni’s declared victory in final week’s presidential election.
He mentioned, “My spouse and I are underneath home arrest. The army surrounded our home; greater than 400 of them have surrounded our home. We’re not allowed to depart; no one is allowed to depart or to return in. We have now run out of meals. My spouse was assaulted yesterday when she was making an attempt to go to the backyard to choose meals.
“My legal professionals are usually not allowed to see me and occasion officers are additionally not allowed to go to me and in addition all journalists are blocked from coming to see me so we’re remoted, myself and my spouse. We’re in peril as a result of we don’t know the intention of the troopers, none of them is speaking to us. They beat my safety guard so unhealthy simply because he was asking them what they need, they may not establish themselves. A few of them are in army uniform whereas others are in plainclothes however are having computerized assault rifles.
“I’m afraid for my life. I’m afraid for my spouse’s life however we should maintain going as a result of what we’re doing is ethical and it’s simply.”
Talking in regards to the atrocities being dedicated by the federal government, he mentioned, “Simply yesterday, 4 folks had been shot lifeless in a metropolis referred to as Masaka and they’re conserving me and my spouse underneath home arrest as a result of they don’t need us to handle the nation on the way in which ahead, they don’t need us to speak to the press.”
Wine urged the Ugandan public to reject the outcomes introduced by the nation’s electoral physique, saying they didn’t replicate their want.
He, nonetheless, vowed to problem the actions of Museveni via “non-violent” and “authorized” means.
Lengthy-term chief, Museveni, was declared the ‘winner’ of the January 14 presidential election marred by allegations of large rigging and intimidation of opposition members, securing 58.6 % of the vote and a sixth time period after 35 years in energy.
Wine has rejected the outcomes, describing the election as a sham.
On Monday, the UN Watch took to its Twitter account to allege that Museveni dedicated “widespread voter fraud” to win the just-concluded presidential election.
The group tackled the 76-year-old for shutting down the nation’s Web forward of the election.
The put up learn, “Congratulations to Uganda President Yoweri Museveni on successful re-election after murdering, imprisoning and silencing opponents, shutting down the Web, and committing widespread voter fraud.”
