“The government’s repression of independent voices has significantly worsened as the Oromo protest movement has grown,” said Yared Hailemariam, Director of the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE). “The international community should demand the end of this state-orchestrated clampdown and the immediate release of peaceful critics to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.”

Oromo protests

The recent escalation in the use of the ATP to prosecute peaceful protesters, journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders, and opposition leaders and members is indicative of the Ethiopian Government’s growing intolerance of dissent. Largely peaceful protests began in November 2015 against the dispossession of land without adequate compensation in the Oromia region. In response to the protests, the Ethiopian authorities have arbitrarily arrested thousands of people and several hundred people have been summarily killed by the security services while participating in the protests.

While the bulk of those arrested since February 2016 have not been charged, several are currently being prosecuted under the ATP. These include Getachew Shiferaw (Editor-in-Chief of the online newspaper Negere Ethiopia), Yonathan Tesfaye Regassa (former head of public relations for the opposition Semayawi Party), Bekele Gerba (Deputy Chair, Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC)) and Dejene Tufa (Deputy General Secretary, OFC) and Gurmesa Ayana (secretary, OFC). Fikadu Mirkana, (news editor and a reporter with the public Oromia Radio and TV), was arrested on 19 December 2015, charged under the ATP and released five months later in April 2016.

Getachew was held in Maekelawi Detention Centre after his arrest on 25 December 2015. On 22 April 2016, upon reaching the four-month limit for investigations permissible under the ATP, the court ordered the Federal Police to close the investigation. Yet Getachew remained in police custody and on 23 May was charged under the ATP. He has since been moved to the Kilinto detention centre.

“The Ethiopian government is using laws and judicial processes that fail to meet international human rights standards to harass and stifle dissent, targeting activists, human rights defenders, opposition party leaders and journalists ” said Haben Fecadu, Campaigner at Amnesty International.

Despite repeated calls from CSOs, independent UN experts, the European Parliament, and numerous governments, including the United States, the Ethiopian authorities continue to arbitrarily detain and prosecute scores of peaceful protestors for exercising their rights, using the broad provisions of the ATP to criminalise peaceful expressions of dissent. Since the enactment of the ATP in 2009, human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers and peaceful protestors have been prosecuted and convicted under its provisions.

“The international community – including the United Nations – should unconditionally condemn the arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights defenders in Ethiopia,” said Hassan Shire, Executive Director of DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project). “The Ethiopian government’s use of counter-terrorism as a smokescreen to target the peaceful work of human rights defenders is an affront to its regional and international obligations.”

Most recently, on 10 May 2016, blogger Zelalem Workagenehu was sentenced to five years and four months in prison under the ATP. Zelalem, who works for the independent diaspora blog, De Birhan, was convicted under charges of conspiring to overthrow the government and supporting terrorism under the ATP. The activities on which these charges were based included organising a digital security training course and reporting on the peaceful protest movements in the country.  Though the Federal High Court acquitted some of his co-defendants on 15 April 2016, the police re-arrested two of them only hours after they were released from Kilinto Prison on 17 April 2016 and detained them at Maekelawi Prison for a night. Yonathan Wolde and Bahiru Degu were charged with applying to participate in the same training, described by the government as “training to terrorise the country,” and of being members of Ginbot 7, a banned Ethiopian opposition party, which they deny.

Zelalem and Bahiru described for the trial court their conditions of and treatment in detention. Zelalem said he was detained in “Siberia” in the central Maekelawi Prison in Addis Ababa and was tortured by interrogators.

“Independent civil society and media is being quashed out of existence in Ethiopia,” said Tor Hodenfield, Policy and Advocacy Officer at CIVICUS. “The international community must call for more than tokenistic releases of human rights defenders and encourage the Ethiopian government to support avenues of peaceful dissent.”

Several members and leaders of opposition political parties have also been targeted under the ATP. Bekele Gerba and 21 other individuals were arrested on 23 December 2016, and charged under the ATP. They were then held for a four-month long investigation without access to their lawyer. Authorities transferred them to Kilinto Detention Centre on 22 April 2016. On 11 May 2016, the Prison Administration declined to bring the defendants to Lideta Federal High Court since all the defendants wore black suits, in expression of their mourning for the people killed during the protests. On 4 May 2016, former Spokesperson of the opposition Semayawi (Blue) Party, Yonathan Tesfaye Regassa, was charged with “incitement, planning, preparation, conspiracy and attempt” to commit a terrorism related act under the ATP.

On 25 April 2016, the Federal High Court sentenced the former Governor of Gambella Region, Okello Akway Ochalla, to nine years imprisonment under the ATP. Okello fled Ethiopia after the 2003 massacre in the region, and obtained Norwegian citizenship. He was arbitrarily arrested in South Sudan in March 2014 and handed over to Ethiopian security forces. He was originally charged under the ATP. The trial of Okello and his co-defendants was marred by violations of fair trial guarantees and including the use of witness testimonies in exchange for non-prosecution under the ATP.

The undersigned CSOs demand the competent Ethiopian authorities to take the necessary steps to bring the ATP in line with its international, regional and constitutional human rights obligations and immediately and unconditionally release all human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers and opposition party leaders and members imprisoned for peacefully exercising their rights.

Amnesty International
Article 19
Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE)
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Civil Rights Defenders
Defend Defenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Right Defenders Project)
Ethiopia Human Rights Project (EHRP)
Front Line Defenders
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

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Those arrested include FDC’s Kiiza Besigye, City lord mayor Elias Lukwago and his deputy as well as the 4GC coordinator Mathias Mpuuga.

The members of the opposition under the For God and My Country pressure group had lined up several activities for the launch of the walk to freedom campaign including a visit to the new taxi park.

They had also planned to hold a rally at the constitutional square which has been blocked by the police on grounds that it is illegal.

The group says the activities are in commemoration of the country’s golden jubilee.

However the police say no such activities can be allowed to take place at a time when the country is facing serious terror threats.

The city lord Mayor Elias Lukwago was arrested as he attempted to a address a crowd at Namayiba taxi park.

The police fired teargas to disperse the crowd before whisking Lukwago way to the central police station.

Earlier Lukwago had been arrested and placed under preventive arrest at his home in Wakaliga but he eluded the police and managed to proceed to Namayiba taxi park.

Forum for Democratic Change leader Dr. Kiiza Besigye was arrested from Kisenyi as made his way to the new taxi park.

Besigye too, had earlier eluded police from his home in Kasangati where officers had been deployed to reportedly prevent him from leaving his house.

The 4GC coordinator Matthias Mpuuga was also arrested this morning at his home in Lungujja and later taken to Kiira Road Police station where he was held briefly and later released without charge.

The protests to have now spread to Masaka district where the residents are protesting the arrest of their member of parliament

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There is an apparent war within Uganda opposition parties with some sharp allegations to the effect that some member parties like the Democratic Party (DP) have allied with the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

However the spokesperson of DP, Kenneth Paul Kakande clears that there is no such alliance between DP and NRM. There is no resolution of the National Executive Committee of DP mandating anybody in DP to work NRM for any political reasons.

He says that if there are any individual or group of persons doing it, they are doing it in their personal capacity and the party wishes to state that it will investigate these unfortunate and callous turn of events and such people, if any will be dealt with according to DP laws.

There also seems to be a deliberate effort to depict a war of words between FDC and DP leaders. Kakande says that the DP is not in business of attacking other opposition leaders and members. Kakande says that DP believes that the people in FDC are their friends and the party sees them as allies in the fight against Museveni’s leadership. He challenges FDC and all other opposition parties to concentrate their fire on the liberation struggle.

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People in their hundreds have besieged Buganda Road Court premises. The people stormed the court premises to hear by themselves the charges the government accuses opposition leader Col. Kiiza Besigye, Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, Kampala woman MP, Nabillah Sempala and FDC woman leader, Ingrid Turinawe.

The government accuses Besigye and group of organising an illegal assembly invKampala last Wednesday in which an assistant inspector of Police, John Bosco Ariong was killed.

The policemen have been seen exchanging bitter words with civilians inKampalaas they drove to Buganda Road Court in a procession chanting opposition slogans and V signs.

Police spokesperson Asuman Mugenyi says that the police blocks peaceful processions by opposition politicians because sometimes they degenerate into chaos; leading to riots, loss of lives and damage to property. Large groups of civilians have been overheard cursing present Museveni’s military regime.

Many of the civilians at theBugandaroad court wished Museveni hell and Besigye all the good things on earth. Asuman says that the police will continue to break down assemblies by opposition leaders.

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People in their hundreds have besieged Buganda Road Court premises. The people stormed the court premises to hear by themselves the charges the government accuses opposition leader Col. Kiiza Besigye, Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, Kampala woman MP, Nabillah Sempala and FDC woman leader, Ingrid Turinawe.

The government accuses Besigye and group of organising an illegal assembly in Kampala last Wednesday in which an assistant inspector of Police, John Bosco Ariong was killed.

The policemen have been seen exchanging bitter words with civilians inKampalaas they drove to Buganda Road Court in a procession chanting opposition slogans and V signs.

Police spokesperson Asuman Mugenyi says that the police blocks peaceful processions by opposition politicians because sometimes they degenerate into chaos; leading to riots, loss of lives and damage to property. Large groups of civilians have been overheard cursing present Museveni’s military regime.

Many of the civilians at the Bugandaroad court wished Museveni hell and Besigye all the good things on earth. Asuman says that the police will continue to break down assemblies by opposition leaders.

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Their vehicles were recently shattered during the recent demonstrations, but the police and the government in general doesn’t want opposition leaders to walk on foot or use public means while visiting markets, courts, places of workshop… Some of the opposition leaders like Kenneth Paul Kakande (the spokesperson of the Democratic Party) have no cars because they were stolen, damaged in demonstrations or seized by the police. Kakande says that the government has impoverished them.

They don’t have the money to repair their cars but whenever they move on foot the police arrests them and whenever they drive their cars the police arrests them that mechanically dangerous conditioned cars.

For example in Kampala today, the police arrested FDC women league leader Ingrid Turinawe and Kampala woman MP Nagayi Sempala as they were walking to Court in a procession from their homes. The opposition leader Col. Kiiza Besigye describes the charges police charges opposition leaders as politically motivated arguing that the Government does not have evidence to sustain them in court.

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Members of Activists for Change (A4C) are nonviolent. So we condemn all violence and perpetrators of violence in the country.

Those policemen and army men in police uniform who attack unarmed civilians during A4C rallies and provoke violence are strongly condemned by the A4C leaders.

Anne Mugisha, one of the A4C leaders says that the Police should act responsibly and exercise restraint when controlling crowds of people tired of Museveni’s rule.

She says for police to beat up unarmed civilians with batons and sticks and violent arrests of popular opposition leaders do not promote peace in Uganda.

Violence begets violence and A4C condemns it in the strongest terms. Anne Mugisha says Police should act fast to arrest its violent officials instead of arresting nonviolent peace loving activists.

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Ugandans in the northern Uganda are to hold a round table meeting and also conduct victory party for some of the people who contested on opposition party ticket and won the polls.

The round table meeting will take place on Thursday this week in Nwoya district at a place called Lukutu.

The round table meeting will kick off in morning hours and the cerebrations will follow immediately from 2:00pm at Koch Amar trading centre also in Nwoya district.

The organisers of the two events have invited the president General of DP, Norbert Mao among other opposition leaders to attend the round table meeting. Why? This is because Hon. Mao comes from Northern Uganda.

By James Okello

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The meeting we are told took place in Kasangati in the home of Col. Kiiza Besigye of FDC. In attendance was UPC President, Dr. Olara Otunnu, Social Democratic Party president Michael Mabikke, DP representatives and Col. Besigye himself was present.

The donors asked Besigye and other opposition leaders who were in the meeting why they don’t unit to form a one party opposition force to oust president Museveni. Otunnu, and the DP officials deliberated on the issue.

In the meeting, DP, UPC and SDP declined to form a joint opposition party. But they agreed to work together in the struggle to oust Museveni. From the meeting, Besigye and group went to Namasuba Kalina zone for a joint rally.

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Col. Kiiza Besigye, the president General of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) says that opposition members want to make it an increasingly high risk for government officials in Uganda to embezzle public funds. President Museveni all along has been seen by many people as shielding thieving government officials.

Besigye alleges that some officials in Uganda government are dirtiest politicians and computer hackers who can break into electronic vaults and steal the country’s resources. He says that Ugandans no longer want to be grievously robbed by the thieving Uganda government officials.

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