Human Rights Defenders join NUP, Kyagulanyi to challenge Museveni victory.

By Ben Musanje

2^nd February 2021

The National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders have pledged readiness to work with the National Unity Platform (NUP) legal team to use the presidential electoral findings to beef up the case filed before court challenging the victory of President Yoweri Museveni in the just concluded election.

Yesterday, Kyagulanyi’s legal team led by Medard Lubega Segona filed the presidential election petition No.1 2021 in the Supreme Court challenging the results of the presidential elections that declared President Kaguta Museveni as the winner with 6,042,898 votes representing (58.38%) while Kyagulanyi polled 3,631,437 votes representing (35.08%).

Earlier on Tuesday at his home in Magere, Wakiso district Kyagulanyi said their action to go to court to challenge the 2021 presidential results is mainly to test the credibility of the Ugandan judiciary that is supposed to be the temple of justice.

Now, while releasing the human rights defenders’ electoral report findings on Tuesday in Kampala, the Executive Director of the coalition, Robert Kirenga revealed that the team sent across the country managed to file some cases of rights violation against human rights defenders and electorates.

He further confirms that at some polling stations in Gulu, Isingiro, Ntungamo among others, teams were brutalized and arrested for questioning acts of electoral illegalities orchestrated by the army and people in yellow t-shirts and shirts.

As they observed the exercise, 558 rights defenders were unlawfully arrested and the coalition managed to rescue them and some were offered medical treatment.