- Uganda's government has cracked down on NGOs in the country and ordered 54 organisations to suspend operations.
- The organisations include Chapter Four, the country's most prominent rights NGO, as well as other religious, environmental and democratic groups.
- The move is viewed as an escalation of the Ugandan government's efforts to tighten control over civil society.
Kampala – The Ugandan government said on Friday it had ordered 54 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to suspend operations, a major escalation of its efforts to tighten control over civil society.
The groups affected include the country's most prominent rights organisation, Chapter Four, as well as religious, environmental and electoral democracy groups.
The shutdown was ordered "with immediate effect", the National Bureau for NGOs, part of the ministry of internal affairs, said in a statement.
It said the groups had failed to comply with legislation covering their activities, including operating with expired permits, not filing accounts or not registering with the authorities.
Some of the organisations ordered to close had taken part in an election monitoring operation on polling day in January, which was raided by security forces and during which several of their leaders were arrested.
The hotly disputed poll saw President Yoweri Museveni returned for a sixth term in office after a violent campaign marked by the harassment and arrest of opposition figures, attacks on the media and the deaths of several dozen people.
'Deeply concerned'
Chapter Four executive director Nicholas Opiyo confirmed his group had received the government's order to close and described the situation as "serious".
The International Commission of Jurists Africa branch said on Twitter it was "deeply concerned" by the suspension of Chapter Four.
It said:
In December 2020 – a month ahead of the election – Ugandan authorities arrested Opiyo for alleged money-laundering.
Opiyo – who has received several prestigious human rights prizes for his activism – spent Christmas in detention at a high security prison before being released on bail a week later.
Despite repeated court appearances since then, the government has not produced any evidence to support its allegations.
A group of 14 major international donors, including the European Union and the United States, had protested at Opiyo's arrest.
'Extremely unfortunate'
Charity Ahimbisibwe, who leads the Citizens' Coalition for Electoral Democracy (CCEDU) – another of the shuttered organisations – described the government action as "extremely unfortunate".
Ahimbisibwe said the move came after the organisation had received repeated summons to government offices since it released a report which had catalogued malpractice during the election.
Ahimbisibwe said the CCEDU's operating permit had expired, but it had asked for an extension because it was not possible to renew it during the long coronavirus lockdown and apparent stalling by local government officials.
Ahimbisibwe said:
On Saturday, Museveni had publicly scolded Uganda's security forces for using excessive violence, as the opposition alleges hundreds of their supporters disappeared or died following the violent election crackdown.
The veteran president, who was re-elected despite widespread reports of irregularities, blamed "indiscipline" and "laziness" among state forces for incidents that resulted in the death of Ugandans.
At least 54 people were shot dead in November while demonstrating over the arrest of Museveni's main political opponent, the rapper-turned-MP Bobi Wine.
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