MPs have raised concerns over the Uganda Human Rights Commission’s (UHRC) failure to visit detention facilities in Buganda, despite the region being the epicenter of human rights violations.
In a presentation before Parliament’s Human Rights Committee, Mariam Wangadya, the Chairperson of UHRC, revealed that the Commission had visited 303 places of detention during the 2024/25 financial year.
These included 72 prisons, 230 police facilities, and one remand home spread across the country’s 12 regions.
However, the contents of her report came under scrutiny from Members of Parliament, particularly Odur, who questioned why the Commission had not visited detention facilities in Buganda.
He pointed out that the Central Region has been the epicenter of human rights violations but was seemingly ignored in favor of Gulu.
Odur challenged the Commission’s choice asking questions why the commission didn’t consider the epicenter.
“Forced disappearances, abductions, arrests by whatever then has been done by the military and many of them happened here in the Central and I find it surprising that the Commission now chose to go and visit the detention facility in Gulu yet here, which is the epicentre of all this here in Buganda, here in the Central, you didn’t visit.”
He further pressed for answers regarding why military detention centers were not included in the visits.
“If you look at the cases of people who have been taken to court and others have been dumped in many places, they have been tortured. Could we have an explanation, why the Commission all of a sudden found to run away from the core issue of visiting the Military detention centres?” Odur questioned.
David Livingstone Zijan, the Butembe County MP, questioned the commission’s focus on Gulu and its findings. He asked whether the commission intends to train the violators, citing JATT as an example of how to handle the media.
“What informed your choice of Gulu? What was your finding and does it give a representation of the entire country. Does the education of the media to report sensitively yet they are victims of human rights other than the security forces. Do you also seek to train the violators or JATT on how to handle the media in the spirit of human rights. Or you can’t face the perpetrators themselves?”
Wangadya emphasized the importance of having a budget that aligns with their mandate to enable them provide justice.
“I think we should concede that our mandate must relate with the budget fairly. Human rights issues should attract a big budget. We have now learnt but the director of research can answer why the directorate takes the lions share. We undertake to increase allocations in investigations and complaints registrations. Concede that the development budget has become more important than core mandate. We have no capacity to tell who are political prisoners. Maybe the public may judge. We were perturbed by the bail terms by court on Eron kiiza,” she said.
Wangadaya informed the media that the public appreciates the commission’s work, as it has established human rights courts across the country to ensure access to justice.
“Most Ugandans appreciate our work. We have taken human rights courts across the country to deliver justice,”
