Uganda: Protester sexually abused in police cell

A Ugandan activist, one of dozens arrested last week for taking part in banned demonstrations, was sexually abused in custody, his lawyer said.

During the anti-corruption protests in the capital Kampala, more than 90 young people were arrested and some of them were charged with causing public nuisance.

Some of those released from custody also reportedly claimed to have been sexually abused in police cells, which led to widespread criticism, but the police denied these allegations.

The two-day anti-corruption demonstrations took place on Tuesday and Thursday, despite President Yoweri Museveni warning that the protesters were “playing with fire”.

Inspired by the recent anti-tax demonstrations in Kenya, the protesters demanded the resignation of the parliamentary speaker. She is accused of corruption, which she denies.

But Ugandan riot police quickly ended the protests by dragging several young activists, including a well-known television presenter, onto the back of trucks.

Some of them face various charges, but an unknown number of them are still in police custody, local media reported.

Referring to his client’s allegations of sexual harassment, lawyer Eron Kiiza said that although such attacks on people in police cells are not common, they do occur.

“He was anally abused immediately after his arrest,” he told the BBC.

The US Embassy in Kampala said in a statement: “We call for all allegations of attacks on individuals in custody to be investigated and perpetrators to be brought to justice.”

However, police spokeswoman Kituuma Rusoke dismissed the allegations as “unfounded” and “malicious”.

“The police are very conscious of the rights of the suspects and take their responsibilities seriously,” Mr Rusoke added in a statement.

Mr Kiiza said police believed the protesters were being supported by foreign donors, meaning those who had cut their funding or criticised Uganda for passing the world’s toughest anti-homosexuality laws last year.

“The police believe that homosexuals are funding the protests,” he said, adding that his client was told during the attack: “‘Now you’ve earned it.'”

“This happened due to the desperation of some police officers who are trying to find a link between the protests and the so-called foreign donors,” the lawyer said.

“It’s like an act of revenge.”

Mr Kiiza said he had medical records proving the sexual abuse and he would use them to sue the authorities once his client completed treatment and rehabilitation.

Due to security concerns, he declined to disclose the name of his client or the ward where the alleged abuse took place.

Opposition leader Bobi Wine claimed that other activists of both sexes had also been sexually abused during their detention.

“Few of them have had the courage to speak publicly about their ordeal. A great many of them have told us about it, but they are afraid or ashamed to speak publicly about it,” added Bobi Wine, a former pop star whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi.

The allegation sparked an uproar on social media and Ugandans called for an independent investigation into the case.

“If this is true, then may the Lord judge the people who do this!” posted by Youth Minister Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi on X.

The minister acknowledged that the allegations were inhumane and called on the country’s police chief to investigate them.

On Thursday, President Museveni praised the police for cracking down on protests, which he said were funded by “foreign sources.”

In court, “very bad things” would come to light about the protesters, he added in his post on X.

Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all those arrested.

“The brutal methods used by the Ugandan government to suppress and silence peaceful protesters demonstrate a blatant crackdown on dissent,” the rights group added in a statement.