Parliament’s leadership, including Speaker Anita Among, Minister for General Duties Kasule Lumumba and Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi, has condemned what they describe as escalating brutality by police and other security agencies during the ongoing campaign season.
They said the excessive force has left hundreds of supporters, particularly those aligned to opposition candidates, wounded, dispossessed or fearing for their safety.
Rising reports of violence and alleged human rights violations by security forces against supporters of opposition presidential candidates prompted the parliamentary debate, with several legislators expressing alarm at the scale and intensity of the incidents.
Joel Ssenyonyi opened the discussion by giving an account of alleged attacks on supporters of National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi in recent weeks.
Ssenyonyi said he had initially commended security agencies for handling the early stages of the campaigns with restraint but argued that the situation had deteriorated sharply.
“At the beginning of these campaigns to midway, I stood on the floor of Parliament and applauded government and security forces for exercising maturity, but I would like to inform this House that supporters of my presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu have been brutalised, with some being killed at the hands of security forces,” Ssenyonyi said.
Several MPs from across the political divide echoed his concerns. Speaker Anita Among described the level of brutality reported in recent weeks as unprecedented.
She warned that violence only increases sympathy for targeted candidates and undermines the credibility of the electoral process.
“It is really unfortunate that we are seeing brutality in these campaigns,” she said.
“I am aware that most presidential candidates don’t have support across Uganda, and when brutality is unleashed upon them, that is when they gain support. The use of brutality by police against opposition supporters isn’t necessary at this point.”
Kazo County MP Dan Kimosho urged sympathy for families of NUP supporters who have lost relatives or suffered injuries in recent incidents.
He said police restrictions and actions were not limited to opposition candidates, noting that he once developed a headache after police blocked a four-kilometre procession he attempted to organise for President Museveni in Kazo.
Ssenyonyi also accused police of double standards in the treatment of candidates, saying some opposition presidential contenders have been repeatedly blocked from accessing venues that had already been cleared by the Electoral Commission.
He said such inconsistencies further fuel public mistrust in the electoral environment.
During the same sitting, Ssenyonyi criticised Inspector General of Police Abas Byakagaba, accusing him of hypocrisy for defending the use of teargas, live bullets and police dogs to disperse NUP supporters during processions.
He questioned why the same measures were not applied when National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidates held similar activities.
The debate highlighted deepening concerns about fairness, safety and the conduct of security agencies in the ongoing elections.
Legislators urged government to ensure equal treatment of candidates and to rein in excessive force to prevent the situation from worsening as campaigns intensify.
