The Status Quo at All Costs: Human Rights Abuses during the 2021 Elections in Uganda

Abstract

On January 14, 2021, Uganda held a fiercely contested and controversial presidential election, which gave the incumbent president, Yoweri Museveni, a sixth term in office. Museveni, who has been in power for 35 years, beat his closest challenger, Robert Kyagulanyi, commonly referred to as Bobi Wine, by 58.6 per cent to 34.8 per cent. The research discusses the contentiousness of the elections, highlighting the shrinking civic space in Uganda, the clampdown on the media, incapacitated election observers and the massive voting irregularities. In the same vein, the research report shows that the 2021 elections triggered unprecedented levels of human rights abuses by the security forces, which included frequent arrests of opposition candidates, killing of opposition supporters, illegal arrests, incommunicado abductions, detention in ungazetted facilities, disappearance of several citizens, torture and heavy deployment of the military to intimidate voters. This research report takes stock of these violations, analyses their patterns and suggests strategies to minimise violations in future elections.