news 26 June 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
UHRC Torture Dialogue Disrupted as Opposition, Activists Walk Out
A national dialogue on torture in Uganda, organized by the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), erupted into controversy when opposition figures and activists walked out after being restricted from discussing specific torture cases and victims. The disruption occurred amidst a nationwide lawyers' boycott. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/drama-as-opposition-activists-storm-out-of-uhrc-torture-dialogue-5510510
A public dialogue aimed at commemorating the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture took a dramatic turn in Kampala when participants from opposition parties and human rights circles staged a walkout. The event, held on June 26, became contentious when officials from the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) attempted to limit the discussion, specifically prohibiting the naming of individual torture victims or detailing ongoing high-profile cases.
Mr. Harold Kaija, the deputy Secretary General of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), voiced the frustration, accusing the UHRC panel of evading critical human rights realities. He highlighted the alleged continued suffering of party members, including activist Sam Mugumya and PFF President Erias Lukwago, stating, “We have received reports that he [Mugumya] can’t even walk.” When the session moderator, Ms. Pauline Nansamba of the UHRC, interrupted Mr. Kaija, deeming his remarks outside the scope of the day’s official theme, he perceived it as censorship. “What is the purpose of this dialogue if we are being gagged?” Kaija questioned before leaving, predicting that those enabling torture might one day face similar treatment.
Activist Winfred Mugambwa echoed these sentiments, accusing the commission of suppressing an honest conversation about structural torture. While representatives from the UPDF and Prisons Service presented their institutional mechanisms for addressing excesses and operational challenges, the walkout signaled a deep rift in how effectively torture is being tackled.
The dialogue’s disruption coincided with a nationwide court boycott by lawyers under the Uganda Law Society (ULS), protesting perceived judicial failures to protect legal practitioners from state intimidation and abuses. Despite Uganda’s 2012 Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, rights groups assert that a lack of political will hinders its effective implementation, allowing torture and enforced disappearances to persist.