Ugandan Elections: US Imposes Fresh Visa Restrictions On Government Officials

The United States has announced visa restrictions on Ugandan officials who are believed to have undermined the democratic process in the country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday.

“Today I am announcing visa restrictions on those believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process in Uganda, including during the country’s January 14 general elections and the campaign period that preceded it,” Mr Blinken said, in a press statement issued by the State Department on Friday.

The statement said the Ugandan government actions represented a continuing downward trajectory for the country’s democracy and respect for human rights as recognised and protected by Uganda’s constitution.

“Opposition candidates were routinely harassed, arrested, and held illegally without charge. Ugandan security forces were responsible for the deaths and injuries of dozens of innocent bystanders and opposition supporters, as well as violence against journalists that occurred before, during, and after the elections,” the statement added.

At least 54 people were shot dead by security forces during protests that erupted in Kampala and other major towns when leading opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine was arrested on November 18, 2020.

The statement did not name the officials targeted for travel bans, but series of letters from the US Congress and the Department of State during both the Trump and Biden Administrations have named nearly a dozen of senior military and police officers among those likely to be sanctioned.

Mr Blinken’s travel ban is the latest in a series of restrictions that the US government has imposed on high profile Ugandan security officers, government officials, and their family members.

Other Western allies and donors, particularly the European Union, have mooted similar moves in recent months, signaling deteriorating relations.