At a recent press conference, HURINET Uganda, a human rights body, alleged that the increasing cases of violence around the country are linked to the elections.

However, it did not prove that the highlighted violent acts were actually ‘election violence.’ Incidents of thuggery and other acts of crime will always occur (regardless of the season) and just because a country is going through an election period does not necessarily mean that crime will grind to a halt.

What it does mean, however, is that security organisations should work harder than ever before to maintain peace and security at this critical time – which is what they have been doing.

For a long time now, human rights bodies have unfairly castigated the Police, accusing it of human rights violations in the course of its duties. Human rights organisations have failed to acknowledge that the Police are doing a commendable job.

Since the nomination of eight presidential candidates in October 2010, what major violent event has occurred? The answer is none. Human rights bodies should give credit where it is due.

The euphemism ‘election violence’ can only be used after there is concrete evidence of a systematic and concerted effort by political actors to coerce the voting public.

HURINET should give us the evidence and show us the facts to backup their claims. Otherwise, employing unsubstantiated, overly-critical conjecture makes human rights bodies like HURINET lose their credibility.

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