Rwenzururu attacks: Human rights agencies put death toll at over 200 people

Rwenzururu attacks: Human rights agencies put death toll at over 200 people

A coalition of 40 human rights organizations has put the number of people who died  during the November 26th 2016 Rwenzururu clashes at over 200.

A report by Human rights Watch indicates that at least 55 people, including 14 police officers, were killed on November 26, and that more than 100 people were killed by joint security forces during the attack on the Rwenzururu Palace compound.

This contradicts the  government statements which put the death toll from the clashes at 103 people.

The coalition appealed to the Ugandan government to facilitate independent and transparent investigations, and hold security forces accountable for the November 2016 clashes in Kasese district.

The group urged the government to invite relevant African Commission experts and United Nations special rapporteurs to participate in investigations.

“At a time when the public trust in many inconclusive investigations into several murders in Uganda continues to wane, the government ought to accept international cooperation and support to restore trust in its commitment to investigate and act on these atrocities,”  Arthur Larok, Country Director of Action Aid Uganda said.

The coalition questioned why no military or police personnel have been charged for their conduct during the violence that preceded the arrest of Charles Wesley Mumbere, the King of Rwenzururu Kingdom and 180 of his subjects. Mumbere and his subjects, most of them royal guards, have since been charged with murder, treason, and terrorism, among other crimes.

“The Ugandan government took significant steps to charge almost 200 civilians for their alleged involvement in the violence in Kasese. But six months after this unexplained and overwhelming use of lethal force by the police and military, the government has taken no steps at all to investigate their role or to provide justice for the many victims, Maria Burnett, the East Africa Director at Human Rights Watch said.

Burnett says that the government should not continue to hide under the guise of politics to deny justice to its citizens. She said that government is supposed to account for what happened in Kasese.