Associate Writer | Ugandan elections are increasingly militarized, based on "Democracy on Trial" report

As Uganda prepares for the much anticipated 2021 presidential elections, a new report by the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (NCHRD) Uganda paints a disconsolate picture.

The report entitled “democracy on trial” gathered between October 2015 and April 2019 details copious human rights desecrations by security agencies led by police and the national army, the UPDF.  The abuses are done before, during, and after elections, the report says.

“The other concern is the heavy deployment of armed army officers in election-related activities whereas the constitution provides that the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) can co-operate with the civilian authority and other sister agencies in security operations such a cooperation is only expected in emergencies and cases of natural disasters,”  the- 55- paged- report says “ It’s difficult is to justify how an expected  election cycle can be categorized as an emergency necessitating the involvement of military force that’s trained and equipped to preserve and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda.”

In a bid to show how militarised Uganda’s elections are, the report points to the formation of the vigilante and unregulated individual and group militias who normally support the National Resistance Movement (NRM), the ruling party.

The formation of such groups in election periods, according to the report, can be traced back to the formation of an outfit known as Kalangala Action Plan (KAP) in the run-up to the 2001 presidential elections which were marred by violence.

Read and download the full report: “Democracy on Trial.”