The Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), Ms Mariam Wangadya, has said the Commission is unable to investigate the disappearance of two Kenyan activists who were reportedly abducted last week in the country by suspected plain-clothed security operatives.
Ms Wangadya told this publication that she had received a petition from the families of Nicholas Oyoo and Bob Njagi, who were allegedly kidnapped after attending a campaign rally for Opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, aka Bobi Wine, of the National Unity Platform (NUP).
However, she explained that the Commission cannot take action because the matter is already before the courts.
‘They applied for Habeas Corpus in the High Court. Article 53 of the Constitution bars us from intervening in any matter that is in court, and the moment you file a court action about any matter, then you have taken us out of the jurisdiction,’ she said.
Article 53 clause 4 (a) of the Constitution states: ‘The [Uganda Human Rights] Commission shall not investigate any matter which is pending before a court or judicial tribunal.’
Ms Wangadya added: ‘Before I even look at their petition, since they filed a court case, we cannot intervene…whatever order I may give or investigation I may take, it will be of no legal consequences by virtual of these provisions…’
Her remarks came shortly after a group of activists, led by Nobert Ochieng Opeto and Tony Njagi, brothers of the detained men, alongside colleagues James Ssuuna and John Owor Masanja, submitted a petition to her office last Friday.
They urged the Commission to act swiftly and compel Ugandan security agencies to disclose the whereabouts of the missing Kenyan nationals. The activists delivered their petition while carrying Ugandan and Kenyan flags.
‘We are calling upon the Human Rights Commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest and continued incommunicado detention of the two men who had come to attend a campaign rally,’ Opeto said.
He continued: ‘On behalf of the family, we are also demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Oyoo and Njagi from unlawful custody at a military facility.’ They also asked the Commission to issue protective measures to prevent further harassment of the duo.
Background
Oyoo and Njagi were allegedly abducted on October 1 near a fuel filling station in Busoga Sub-region by plain-clothed gunmen, including military operatives and unidentified individuals.
They were reportedly bundled into a Toyota Hiace van, commonly referred to as a ‘drone’, and driven to an unknown location. On October 6, their legal team, led by Eron Kiiza, filed a habeas corpus petition demanding that the two be produced, dead or alive.
As of last evening, the respondents, led by the Attorney General, had not filed a response, despite the matter being scheduled for hearing today.Both the Uganda Police Force and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) have denied knowledge of the activists’ whereabouts.