U.S. expands sanctions against Ugandan human rights abusers

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

U.S. says its goal is advancing the human rights of all Ugandans.

The U.S. has sanctioned four officers of the Uganda Police Force for human rights violations, including (left to right) Alex Mwine, Elly Womanya, and Bob Kagarura. (Photos courtesy of Daily Monitor | Nation Media Group)

The United States today tightened its sanctions on Ugandans involved in human rights abuses, blocking four Ugandan police officials from receiving visas to travel in the U.S.

Today’s action extends the scope of U.S. sanctions, which in the recent past have targeted several officials for corruption — parliamentary Speaker Anita Among, strong supporter of the last year’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, former Minister of Karamoja Affairs Mary Goretti Kitutu, former Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs Agnes Nandutu, and the Minister of State for Finance Amos Lugolobi.

Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament Anita Among was a forceful advocate for a bill last year instituting the death penalty for people repeatedly convicted of gay sex. (Abubaker Lubowa photo courtesy of Reuters/WSJ) — When U.S. sanctions were imposed last spring against Anita Among Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament, activist Sarah Mutiga said, “Anita Among …single-handedly turned the lives of LGBTQ Ugandans into living hell when she facilitated the ‘Kll the Gays Law of 2023.” (Abubaker Lubowa photo courtesy of Reuters/WSJ)

Peter Elwelu, former deputy chief of the Ugandan Peoples’ Defense Forces (UPDF), was sanctioned for gross violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings committed by members of the UPDF in Kasese.

The U.S. cited “serious human rights abuses” in 2021 when it issued economic and travel sanctions against Major General Abel Kandiho, the commander of the Ugandan Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), a senior intelligence official in Uganda,

In the recent past, the U.S government has threatened visa restrictions on multiple Ugandan officials for allegedly undermining the democratic process and repressing members of marginalized or vulnerable populations in Uganda, but the focus of the latest sanctions was not explicitly for violations of the human rights of LGBTQ people.

Today’s sanctions are described in the following report from Melanie Nathan, executive director of the African Human Rights Coalition. The news was also reported in the Monitor of Uganda and the East African.

Designation of Uganda Police Force Officials Due to Involvement in Gross Violations of Human Rights – Banned from entry to USA.

By Melanie Nathan

The Department of State is taking action today to promote accountability for human rights violations committed in Uganda by designating four members of the Uganda Police Force (UPF) due to their involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

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These individuals are Bob Kagarura, the then-Wamala Regional Police Commander of the UPF; Alex Mwine, then-District Police Commander for the Mitanya District of the UPF; Elly Womanya, then-Senior Commissioner within the UPF and Deputy Director of the UPF’s Criminal Investigations Division in charge of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU); and Hamdani Twesigye, then-Deputy Inspector of Police assigned to SIU.

As a result of today’s action, Kagarura, Mwine, Womanya, Twesigye and their immediate family members are generally ineligible for entry into the United States.

These public designations are made pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024 (Div. F, P.L. 118-47).

The reports that Kagarura, Mwine, Twesigye, and Womanya were involved in gross violations of human rights, as documented by Ugandan civil court documents, civil society organizations, and independent journalists, are serious and credible. By publicly designating these individuals, the United States reaffirms its commitment to advancing the human rights of all Ugandans and promoting accountability for those responsible for human rights violations.