Drama ensued at Parliament on Thursday February 24th, 2022 after the Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) Mrs. Mariam Wagandya, appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and failed to present the findings of the Commission on torture and arbitrary detention of several Ugandans.
Wangadya appeared before the Committee following the directive by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Anita Annette Among, who on February 08th, 2022, gave the legislators 45 days to investigate the human rights situation in the country.
The Deputy Speaker’s directive came a few days after opposition Members of Parliament, led by the Leader of Opposition – Hon. Matthias Mpuuga, walked out of the august house in protest of the continued violation of the rights of innocent Ugandans by some security agencies.
During the meeting with the Committee, Mrs. Wagandya and her Acting Secretary to the Commission – Ms. Margaret Lucy Ejang, were asked by Hon. Francis Mwijukye, MP Buhweju County, to mention any single complaint that they have investigated and made a decision upon but they could not state any.
Wagandya said that as a woman, she was living in fear for her life from non-state agencies, although she noted that despite having thick skin she was unable to divulge details of the cases that were being investigated by her Commission.
Hon. Rose Obiga, the Terego DWP, faulted the Commission for playing a hide and seek game by failing to investigate cases to their logical end while hiding behind the veil of ‘fear’.
Uganda Human Rights Commission Boss Mrs. Mariam Wagandya before Parliament
She observed that the Chairperson (Wangadya) is always requesting for additional funding but there are no complaints that she can register as having been investigated and acted upon by herself or subsidiaries.
Obiga noted that when UHRC fails to handle torture cases it makes it very difficult for the Committee on Human Rights to meet their Terms of Reference, since the management of the Commission are oblivious of their job.
Her remarks were reiterated by Hon. Hanifa Nabukeera, the Woman Representative, Mukono District, who tasked the Commission to present their findings from any investigations they could have done on safe houses that are said to be used by perpetrators of torture and arbitrary arrests but Wangadya and her team failed still.
However, a UHRC staff member who preferred to remain anonymity for fear of reprisal said during an interview that he was shocked to see that the Commission’s representatives led by Chairperson Wagadya had failed to mention that almost 40 cases had been concluded this month and are awaiting compensation by the office of the attorney general since tribunals began this month.
These cases have been handled by only two commissioners – Shifrah Lukwago and Hon. Jacklet Atuhaire, yet the Commission has four commissioners in total, available for allocation of tribunal sessions across the country.
According to the UHRC Legal Directorate, the few cases completed in February account for almost half of the estimated complaints per quarter and this could have justified the need for budget increase to the Commission, for the good of the public.
The Members of Parliament were very shocked to learn that indeed that the Chairperson was seeking more funding yet the Commission is not utilising the funds allocated to them to for the intended purpose.
They stressed the fact that UHR must reduce on the backlog of cases by deploying all the members of the Commission equally.
The legislators were further awed by the Commission’s laying blame on the media for exposing the numerous cases of torture.
Hon. James Baba Didi, the MP Koboko South County and former Minister of State for Internal Affairs, expressed the Committee’s surprise about the misinformation by the Commission Chairperson, whereby torture cases are visible to everyone’s eyes as victims have constantly been brought to courts of law with torture wounds.
Wangadya’s failure to give an account of the cases the Commission has investigated so far forced the legislators to give her only 10 days during which she must present the cases the Commission is working investigations in a detailed report or else resign
Failure to do so will mean that she cannot perform the functions under which UHRC was formed in accordance with Article 52 (1) (a) which mandates the Commission to “investigate, at its own initiative or on a complaint made by any person or group of persons against the violation of any human rights” & Article 52 (2), which requires the commission to “publish periodical reports and submit annual reports to Parliament on the state of human rights and freedoms in the country”
