KAMPALA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF LAW
ACADEMIC
YEAR 1
SEMESTER 1
GROUP 2
LECTURER: COUNSEL BUKIYA GILBATI
NAMES REG NO COURSE SIGN
KISWIRIRI STANELY 2023-04-15628 LLB
AMPEREZA ERASMUS LLB
NALUBEGA JOANITAH 2023-04-15891 LLB
NABACHWA MARIA 2023-04-15923 LLB
ASSUMPTA
NANGOBI BRENDA LLB
KYAMBADDE JOSEPH LLB
MICPARWOTH MARVIN 2023-04-15919 LLB
BUGONZI GERTRUDE LLB
MAKOBA
BIGIRWA SHAFIQ LLB
ABULO DESIRE 2023-04-15932 LLB
DISCUSSION QUESTION

“Slavery was a pre- colonial concept where the dignity and respect for the rights
of individuals were not respected. At the point of independence, the subsequent
governments upheld the vice “with relevant authorities and living examples,
discuss the constitutionality of the above statement with reference to the aspect of
development

Slavery is a situation where a person is wholly subjected to the will of another

or one who has no freedom of action but whose person and services are under the
control of another. Historically, slavery was more practiced in ancient African
countries like Uganda, kenya, Tanzania, Liberia and even up to now it is still practiced
in different countries though its illegal in some countries like Uganda as it is well
stipulated in Article 25(1) of the constitution of Uganda that no person shall be held in
slavery or servitude. Slaves were mainly bought from Africa in the 19 th century by the
Arabs, Portuguese, French to work in their sugarcane plantations, mines, factories etc.
After the departure of colonialists and granting independence to many African
countries like Uganda, still slavery is being practiced in form modern slavery.
Morden slavery refers to the severe exploitation of other humans for personal and
commercial gains.
Constitutionality is the quality of being in accordance with a political constitution.
Development can be defined as both a physical reality and a state of mind in which
society has through some combination of social, economic and institutional processes,
secured the means of obtaining a better life.
Development in all societies must aim to expand the range of economic and social
choice to individuals and nations by freeing them from servitude and dependence not
only in relation to other people and nation states but also to the force of ignorance and
human misery.

Below are the ways in which the subsequent post-colonial governments have
upheld the vice.

Freedom of expression

On 9 January, Facebook shut down dozens of accounts it claimed were linked to

the ministry of ICT. The company said the ministry had used “fake and duplicate
accounts”, to enhance its popularity ahead of the elections. On 12 January, President
Museveni accused Facebook and others of interfering with the electoral process; and
the executive director of the Uganda Communications Commission ordered
telecommunications companies to “immediately suspend any access and use” of social
media and online messaging platforms. Service providers such as Airtel and MTN
Uganda texted their subscribers announcing the suspension. The same day, the
government blocked the internet for five days.

Human trafficking

This is the exploitation of humans for commercial sex, forced labour etc.
Though its illegal in Uganda were it is clearly stipulated in Article 25 of the
constitution of the republic of Uganda that no person shall be subjected to slavery or
servitude and in Article 25(2) which prohibits forced labour and its provisions in
accordance to section 249 of the penal code act CAP 120 which states that any person
who imports, exports, removes, buys, sells, traffics or deals in slaves commits a felony
and is liable to imprisonment for ten years. These slaves were being sent to their
plantations to care for sugarcane, coffee and tea plantations and others were taken to
work in hotels and lodges as sex workers.

Extra-Judicial Killings

Every individual has a right to life and as per Article22 of the constitution of
the Republic of Uganda, it is to effect that no person shall be deprived of life
intentionally except in execution of a sentence passed in a fair hearing in a court of
competent jurisdiction. This right to life has not been respected by many post-
independence governments. During Idi Amin’s regime, it is estimated by human rights
groups and various international observers that between 100,000 to 500,000 people
were killed without trial as a result, this discouraged foreign investment, foreign aid
and this slowed down the development of Uganda.

In 2020, dozens of people were killed in the context of electoral campaigning ahead of
the January 2021 general election, most of them by police and other security forces.
Political assassinations and attempts to eliminate political figures and military officials
is synonymous with the incumbent government not limited to but including the
assassination of Former Buyende district police commander Muhammad Kirumira on
September 8th2018, AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi on 17th March 2017 and the
assassination of the minister for labour, employment and industrial relations col.(RTD)
Charles Okello Engola on 2nd may 2023.

Freedom of movement

On 25 January, the High Court of Uganda lifted the house arrest of Robert Kyagulanyi
and his wife, Barbara, after security forces had surrounded their house on 14 January.
The court ruled that if the state had evidence against them, it should charge them in
court rather than detaining them “unjustifiably”. The police spokesman said that Robert
Kyagulanyi had been placed under “preventive arrest” because he had “planned to
disrupt public order” but did not specify what was being planned.
Prior to the ruling, security personnel blocked access to Robert Kyagulanyi and his
family even when they ran out of food. The US embassy in Uganda said that on 18
January, their ambassador was prevented from visiting the family. The same day,
security forces raided the NUP party headquarters. And this is contrary to
Article29(2a) of the constitution of the republic of Uganda which protects freedom of
conscience, expression, movement, assembly and association to all people of uganda.

Arbitrary arrests and unfair trials

On 14 June, a military court in Kampala released 17 NUP supporters and associates on

bail of UGX 20 million (about US$5,670) after they had spent 166 days in military
detention. They were among 126 NUP supporters and staff arrested in December 2020
in Kalangala town, central Uganda. The Chief Magistrate had granted them all bail on
4 January, but 17 of them were re-arrested the same day and held for several days.
They were charged with illegal possession of ammunition and remanded at Kitalya
prison in Wakiso district as the story was clearly written in new vision newspaper of
19th December 2020

On 10 September, the Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew trumped-up money-

laundering charges against Nicholas Opiyo, executive director of human rights
organization Chapter Four Uganda. He had been arrested on 22 December 2020,
detained at the police Special Investigations Unit in Kireka, Kampala, and later
remanded to Kitalya prison.4 He was released on bail eight days later.

On 28 December, armed security operatives arrested author Kakwenza Rukirabashaija

in Kampala, after he posted online comments about the commander of the UPDF’s
Land Forces, also the president’s son. He remained in incommunicado detention at the
end of the year.

Sabotaging opposition.

Security personnel deployed at his residence, were preventing people from accessing
Robert Kyagulanyi despite him having reported that his family had run out of basic
needs, including food. On 18 January, the security personnel stationed outside his
house prevented the US Ambassador Natalie Brown from visiting Kyagulanyi’s
residence, where she had gone to check on his health and safety, according to a
statement issued by the US Embassy in Uganda on 18 January. On the same day,
security forces also raided the headquarters of the NUP party. This is not the first time
the Ugandan government has used arrests and detention to undermine opposition
leaders’ plans to legally challenge presidential election results.

During the 2016 election, the leading opposition presidential candidate at the
time, Kizza Besigye, was under house arrest without charge the day after polls
closed. He was later transferred to a police station when he rejected the presidential
election results declaring President Museveni’s re-election and suggested that he would
challenge them in court.

Then, as now, the authorities termed their actions “preventive arrest”. Police
Spokesman Fred Enanga has been quoted in the media as saying Robert Kyagulanyi
was placed under “preventive arrest” as he “planned to disrupt public order”, but he did
not specify what crime was being planned. More than a week now after he was placed
in house arrest, the authorities have yet to present any charges against him. This form
of action is backed the Public Order and management act, 2013, which in one of its
sections stipulates that ‘the underlying principle of managing public order is to regulate
the exercise of freedom to assemble and to demonstrate together with others peacefully
and unarmed and to petition in accordance with Articles 29(1)d and 43 of the 1995
constitution of the republic of Uganda1. Loop holes have been found emanating from
the ambiguous nature of the word “Regulate” as used in this act where the boundaries
within which the forces have to act in order to enforce the regulation are not clearly
stipulated and as to what criteria is used to determine when this rule is to be enforced.
Other tactics such as this have been devised to favor the government and impede
opposition efforts.

Suppression of the press.

This is denial of freedom of speech and expression. Slavery cannot tolerate free speech.
Note that the Ugandan constitution, as well as the international and regional standards,
guarantees both freedom of speech and expression as well as freedom of assembly.
Although Uganda has made significant progress in Media freedom (Article 29 of the
constitution of the Republic of Uganda which protects freedom of conscience,
expression, movement, assembly and association) there are instances of intolerance to
critical journalists trying to forward news to light of public scrutiny.
Following the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995 as amended, it states in
Article 29 (1) every person shall have right to (a) freedom of speech and expression
which shall include freedom of the press and other media. Journalists in Uganda face
physical and emotional danger while doing their jobs by the police and other security
personnel. Ugandan journalists in 2021 became subject to state intimidations and
violence seemingly almost on a daily basis. During political covers, media crew
personnel dressed in combat protective gear as were an effect of being targets of
physical Assault. An instance of the egregious Acts is when journalists were beaten
outside a United Nations compound in the Capital Kampala while covering a post-
election story. Journalists have risen to speak about the legal and illegal mechanisms
that the Government uses to control them. These include; threats, defamation charges,
detainment and beatings (subjection to physical pain), for instance a reporter for the
1
private newsroom, Next Media aka NBS Television, pointed at the fact that some
critical stories are covered and yet nothing has been said or done due to the suppression
and these stories later die since they are never brought to the light of day. This Puts
Ugandans in a position of continued exploitation by the State authorities.
The likes of Critical writers such as Kakwenza Rukirabashaija have fallen victim.
Kakwenza has been detained for his writings three times in a row now. In April 2020,
he was unlawfully detained for seven days after authoring a book, The Greedy
Barbarian, a satirical novel about a fictional country that is engraved with themes of
corruption and greed. Kakwenza was arrested the second time after he wrote another
book, Banana Republic, which detailed the torture of citizens at the hands of military
intelligence. The arrests are to cover the exploitation Ugandans continue to face under
some dictatorial and corrupt leaders. This has enormously injured the political
development of the country as political critics and political rivals are continuously
silenced. And more so on December 28th 2021, he was arrested from his home by
unidentified men over a tweet about the first son (General Muhoozi Kainerugaba). He
was kept in safe houses, denied access to his family and lawyers which is a violation of
Article 23 that provides for the protection of personal liberty and Article 24 that
provides for the respect for human dignity and protection from inhuman treatment as
accorded in the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda as amended. Embedded
in the clauses of Article 23 is the prohibition of detention in places unauthorized by
law, entitlement to bail, the right to an order of habeas corpus, access to relatives,
lawyers and medical personnel.

Another writer Stella Nyanzi too faced the same horror in 2019 over her critical
writings about the wrong doings by the personalities in power that exploit Ugandans.
refer to the daily monitor of 18 April2021

Persecution of ethnic and political groups.

After independence and after the coming to power of Idi Amin in 1971, he persecuted
Asians and different ethnic minorities in Uganda. He went on to expel all Asians
including Indian-Ugandans who were constitutionally recognized as citizens. He took
over their properties which soured the international commercial relationship,
discouraged trade and industrialization between Uganda and other countries. In so
doing, trade and investment was disturbed, people who were employed in the in the
Asian firms were left jobless and this negatively affected the development of Uganda.

In the constitution, it is provided that every person shall have a right to freedom of
speech and expression which shall include freedom of the press and other media. At the
time of independence, different governments have faced both physical and non-
physical threats while doing their work.

Forced evictions
Between 2017 and January 2021, security forces had forcibly evicted more than 35,000
people (over 2,300 families) from their homes in the western Kiryandongo district, to
make way for industrial farming projects. Between 12 February and the end of the
year, at least 22 residents were arrested and released on bond or bail in connection with
protests against evictions and land disputes. In April, the Minister of Lands, Housing
and Urban Development ordered two multinational agribusiness companies to halt any
further evictions affecting 10,000 residents from a 5,155-hectare piece of land in
Kiryandongo’s Ndoi village, pending a decision on whether due process had been
followed.

In August, Uganda’s constitutional court found that the Uganda Wildlife Authority had
illegally evicted the Batwa Indigenous people from their ancestral land in the
Mgahinga forest in the south-west. The court ruled that the Batwa people owned the
whole or part of the area on which the forest is located “in accordance with their
customs and/or practices” and the fact that they had inhabited the forest for many
generations. It directed that the evicted Batwa people should be given appropriate
compensation to improve their situation following evictions, saying that the
government had not adequately compensated them, and had left them a “landless,
destitute… disadvantaged and marginalized people”.

Denial of the right to own property

Subsequent governments upheld the vice of denying people of the right to own
property. In the pre- colonial times there were no laws regulating land in Buganda, all
land belonged to kabaka and his people were mere servants therefore they were at the
mercy of the sovereign. In the post- colonial era, instances of land grabbing are still
evident in Uganda for example Dodoviko Mwanje who demolished St Peters Church in
Ndeeba and so many others. While demolishing, these people are guarded by the
Uganda police yet principally the police is meant to protect people and their property.
Article 26 provides for the right to own property by people of Uganda, however the
government can compulsorily take over one’s land with adequate compensation and if
a person is aggrieved with the compensation has a right to resort to courts of law for
redress. Much as various laws have been enacted to regulate land issues, nevertheless
people’s land has been grabbed by a clique of people and these tend to be above the
laws and indeed seem to be much as the law provides for equality under Article 21.
The government of Uganda has put up commissions of enquiry to probe into the
various land sagas and various reports have been made. In conclusion therefore much
as the government has to some extent tried to harmonize issues to do with land it has
nonetheless ‘caught small fish’ leaving out the masterminds untapped. It is true that
such people who do evict others from land have court orders that provide the same to
ensue, however the government has played a deaf ear when thousands of people cry out
for help, they have been left more of strangers in their own land, some have resorted to
committing suicide because of despair.... The government should not overlook its
people's plight because all authority emanates from them as per article 1 of the 1995
constitution.

Child labor

This is the work that is mentally or morally dangerous and harmful to them.
These children are exploited by their employers by being underpaid, denied a chance to
education and working in poor conditions for long hours. These children are engaged
into hazardous forms of labor at the age of 14 to 16 years. Article34 clause 4 children
are entitled to be protected from social or economic exploitation and shall not be
employed in or required to perform work that is hazardous or to interfere with their
education or harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social
development. Other laws include Uganda Mining Act and Regulations are silent on
child labor. According to the Uganda national statistics, over 2 million children are
engaged in some form of child labor. Such statistics indicate that Uganda is at the risk
of losing a future productive workforce. These children are exploited by their
employers by being underpaid, denied a chance to education and work in poor
conditions for long hours. According to the international labor organization, child labor
is that work that is mentally or morally dangerous and harmful to them and are
normally forced into it by circumstance thus finding themselves in this state of slavery
Hoima 8th April 2021, in a baseline report from the Uganda Bureau of statistics,
indicated also that child Labor in Hoima stands at 26 percent (74,000 children. When
household chores (domestic slavery) were included the rate of child labor rose to 31
percent. The study revealed that 3 out of 10 children (29% were engaged in Hazardous
work or worked for longer hours Child Labor hence refers to children 5-11 years
engaged in any economic activity, or children 12-13 years doing work other than right
work or do work beyond 4 hrs. a week; or children 14-17 years involved in hazardous
forms of labor or working for an equivalent of 43 hours in a week or beyond.

In conclusion, the current government has upheld the vice upon different practices
by the help of the constitution, acts like the penal code act CAP 120, although to some
extent the government has failed to equally promote the constitutional rights amongst
its people which has led to the rise of opposition political pressure as discussed above.

Reference
1. 1995 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA AS AMENDED
2. WIKIPEIA
3. PREVENTION AND PROHIBITION OF TORTURE ACT
4. PUBLIC ORDER AND MANAGEMENT ACT
5. POLICE ACT CAP 303
6. THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (1948)
7. THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AAND PEOPLE`S RIGHTS (1981)
8. THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION (10M) CHIEF OF MISSION SINCE 2011
9 PENOL CODE ACT CAP 120