Staffers at the Human Rights Awareness and Promotions Forum (HRAPF) have vowed to shift their operations and camp at the Old Kampala Police station until Police releases findings on the investigations on the break-in at the organization’s offices one and a half years ago.
Unknown assailants assaulted and brutally killed Emanuel Alituha, a1 security guard before breaking into the HRAPF offices in May 2016. However, todate, police has not come out to apprehend the culprits despite the human rights organization providing evidence including fingerprints and CCTV footage showing faces of the thugs.
Last night, a similar incident occurred at the same offices where suspected robbers forcefully accessed HRAPF offices after badly beating up two security guards who were on duty. The incident occurred at 3 am on Friday morning according to Anthony Mutimba, the HRAPF Director of Operations.
The guards identified as Sezi Bwambale & Godfrey Okwi sustained serious injuries after physically struggling with the attackers who were armed with iron bars and batons. Bwambale and Okwi are in a critical condition and currently hospitalized at Nsambya Hospital.
It is this latest incident that has prompted the organization to express their disgruntlement with police by embarking on moving their daily operations to police premises which they say are more secure.
The HRAPF Executive Director, Adrian Jjuko told journalists on Friday afternoon that effective Monday, the 25 staffers of HRAPF and other activists will camp at Old Kampala Police station until authorities there explain why the killers of Alituha have never been apprehended or prosecuted.
Jjuko said that since the 2016 incident, Police in Old Kampala where the case file was opened has done nothing to follow through the investigations.
“In 2016, I was the first to discover the body of Emmanuel and I promised myself that no other life would be lost. We put in place security measures and the DPC of Old Kampala, Kirumira came here,” he said.
“We gave then fingerprint evidence, CCTV footage showing faces of the assailants, blood samples. Later, they told us it was mere robbery without any effort made to investigate the case”.
In pursuit of justice for the family of Emmanuel and the two security guards that were attacked on Friday, Jjuko said that HRPAF will adopt a new approach.
“We shall have no more guards. We have 25 staffers, I can’t continue putting their lives at risk. So we are shifting our operations to Old Kampala station, we can’t rent in Kololo because they will follow us there. We shall camp at the Police from 8am to 5pm every day until police tells us it is secure to come back here,” he vowed.
“Because without knowing who attacked us, we can’t stay in these premises. As an association, we tried to do everything in our power to secure this place. What do they want us to do? Make it a garrison for us to be safe?” a seemingly disappointed Jjuko said at a press conference.
“Instead of dying from here, we rather die from police since that’s where the guns are,” he added.
Since 2012, a total of 24 organizations involved in human rights have had their offices broken into but there are concerns that security agencies have failed to establish the causes.
They include Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), Human Rights Network Uganda (HURINET) Refugee Law Project, Inter Religious Council of Uganda, Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum, CSBAG, Action For Community Development (ACODEV) and Action Aid International Uganda.
Some of these organizations have pinned government for these actions which they say intend to intimidate them for their political linked activism.
Sheillah Muwanga who works with Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) and a trustee at HRAPF said that these attacks reflect the bigger security crisis in the country.
“It is time to connect the dots. Last night’s incident was not an isolated case. It is an indication that the security in the country is doing bad and that life has become so meaningless. And our political leaders dont care at all,” Muwanga who attended the press conference said.
She stated that while government has committed all the resources required for political causes, there is a deliberate failure to protect human rights organizations evident from the absence of investigations.
“Emmanuel died in vain. But he is a Ugandan like us and deserves protection from the state”.
Muhammad Ndifuna, the Executive Director for Human Rights Network (HURINET) said; “What we are experiencing is the inability to protect citizens and it is a vote of no confidence in the government”.
Several activists stood in solidarity with HRAPF on Friday, some of them holding placards with messages calling on police to provide answers on the unresolved break-ins.
