The Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda has assured Amnesty International, a human rights watchdog that the government will review issues that the body has raised in its latest report.
“Issues will be looked into, the government will examine the Report,” Dr Rugunda told Amnesty’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, Sarah Jackson. The meeting was at his office on Friday, during which she gave him copies of the latest Report.
In the report titled “Rule by Law: Discriminatory Legislation and Legitimised Abuses in Uganda,” Amnesty claims the enactment of some laws has encouraged violence, gender-based discrimination and state repression.
The report was launched at Serena Hotel in Kampala on Thursday. During the meeting with Prime Minister Rugunda, Jackson called for a review of the Public Order Management Act, the Anti-Pornography Act and the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
According to her, the public order law was misinterpreted to mean people should seek permission, rather than notify Police before holding gatherings.
She said the law should be reviewed to prevent what she called violation of freedoms of assembly and of expression, accusing the legal framework of failure to recognise the basic inalienable rights of individuals.
The Report was based on research the body conducted in Uganda this year. The research is said to have involved interviews with 42 affected individuals and group discussions with staff and representatives of 30 civil society organisations.
The interviews are said to have taken place in the capital city Kampala, neighbourhood Entebbe and the southwestern town of Mbarara in the months of March, April and August.
The report claims that although the Police’s enforcement of the law has lessened since the beginning of the year, it has created fear among Ugandans seeking to hold peaceful