UN issues warning to Museveni over crackdown on opposition and activists
UN issues warning to Museveni over crackdown on opposition and activists
The United Nations has warned the Ugandan government over what it described as an escalating crackdown on civil society groups and opposition figures in the country.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Thursday, July 30, condemned what he termed the erosion of the rule of law, military involvement in civilian institutions and Uganda’s shrinking civic space.
Volker said the latest developments under President Yoweri Museveni’s leadership have created a climate of fear across the country.
“I am appalled that the authorities are increasingly targeting any form of dissent, and deepening restrictions on the fundamental freedoms of all those living in Uganda,” Türk said.
Türk’s statement came shortly after Kizza Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, announced that the 70-year-old opposition leader had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit after collapsing during a court appearance.
“He is unconscious, unable to speak, and unresponsive even to a pain stimulus,” Byanyima, who also heads the United Nations AIDS programme (UNAIDS), wrote on her X account.
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Besigye collapsed while appearing before a court in Kampala, where he is facing treason charges, before being rushed to hospital in an ambulance.
According to the UN boss, the crackdown has intensified since Uganda’s January 15, 2026, general election, with at least 50 opposition leaders and supporters arrested by Museveni’s administration.
Türk further disclosed that since the start of the year, five journalists have also been subjected to enforced disappearances, torture, ill-treatment, and arbitrary arrest that do not comply with international human rights standards.
“The actions of the authorities are creating a climate of fear that is increasing self-censorship, further stifling public debate and deepening polarisation,” Türk said.
He called on the Ugandan government to uphold its obligations under international human rights law, the African Charter and the Ugandan Constitution by protecting freedom of expression.
Türk also urged Museveni’s administration to take advantage of economic opportunities and renewed international financial support to address structural challenges while building a human rights-centred economy.
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