Ugandan court charged 36 opposition supporters yesterday with terrorism-related offences after they were deported from neighboring Kenya where they had travelled to attend a training course, court papers seen by Reuters showed. The 36 people, who are members of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), one of Uganda’s biggest opposition parties, deny the charges.
Their lawyer, Erias Lukwago, told reporters outside the magistrates’ court in Kampala the charges were “ridiculous”. The case comes amid protests by young people in both Uganda and Kenya against corruption, high taxes and other grievances. Kenyan authorities detained and then deported the 36 people after they had travelled to the western Kenyan city of Kisumu on July 23 to take part in a leadership and governance training course, their lawyer and party officials said. During their detention in Kenya “their properties were confiscated, including computers and phones.
They were tortured and several injured,” Kizza Besigye, a key figure in the FDC and a veteran opponent of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, said in a post on the X platform on Sunday. Reuters could not independently confirm those accusations. The court charge sheet accused the 36 people of travelling to Kenya “for the purpose of providing or receiving terrorist training”. They are now being held at a prison about 50 kilometres (31 miles) northwest of the capital. Opposition critics and human rights campaigners have long accused Museveni’s government of using fabricated charges to clamp down on his opponents.
Government officials deny this. Museveni, 79, has led the East African country of 46 million since 1986. Last week security personnel detained more than 100 young Ugandans for participating in protests against rampant corruption among government officials.
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The Ugandan demonstrators were drawing inspiration from weeks of youth-led protests in Kenya that forced President William Ruto to withdraw proposed tax hikes.
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