A section of Ugandans in the diaspora have warned the US government to beware of the wrong information it gets about Uganda and the alleged violation of human rights.
US Senators on the Committee on Foreign Relations including James Risch and Cory Booker last week wrote to the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken asking to act on Uganda’s continued violation of human rights stemming from the handling of opposition politicians in the just-concluded 2021 elections.
However, in a March 9, 2021 letter to Blinken, three Ugandans who say they represent many others in the diaspora say they are concerned the US government is being fed with wrong information that they say might break the relationship with Uganda.
“We are concerned that US and Uganda good relations are being sabotaged by opportunists trying to profit from unfortunate situations in Uganda that are mainly caused by individual errant officers, misrepresented facts, and fake news,” the three Ugandans including Titus Seruga, Roland Luwuge, and Tony Makanga say.
“When US citizens with no interest whatsoever in Uganda openly spread false information about it with the amplification of the US Embassy in Kampala it leaves Ugandans wondering whether the US is committed to strengthening partnerships or individuals and corporations have taken over US interests and foreign policy.”
The group says whereas there has been violence orchestrated by some opposition supporters, the same has been ignored in the report to the Secretary of State by the two senators.
“We acknowledge mistakes made by law enforcement officers that could be avoided in one way or another, however, we feel that to address these mistakes we must approach the situation with openness and fairness to all parties. Individual mistakes should not be put on institutions like the police and the army. This only destroys the relationship between the citizens and the armed forces.”
“We have noted that opportunists have a tendency of destroying institutions in countries as means of taking over power from the people. We have carefully studied communication trends by the western media about Uganda and we believe they are all determined to paint a very bad picture of everything.”
The three Ugandans who say they represent many others in the diaspora insist that the US government should be wary of information it receives from individuals with their own selfish interests about Uganda.
“We appreciate US relations with Uganda, we think we can do even better to the benefit of the two countries. We request that the US administration should investigate why some of its citizens are so much interested in Uganda’s affairs and who funds them to interfere in internal matters of a sovereign country,” the group says.
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