A number of Ugandans are celebrating the US travel ban and freezing of assets that have been imposed by the US government against former Inspector General of Uganda Police Gen. Kale Kayihura.
The US government yesterday announced it was freezing assets owned by Kayihura in the US because of his role in gross human rights abuses, corruption, drug smuggling carried out under his watch whe was boss of the police for more than 10 years.
Gen. Kayihura has fiercely denied the charges by the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as unfair and a total fabrication. In a lengthy reply to the ban, Kayihura said:
“I have been informed about the statement of the United States Department of the Treasury issued on the 13th of September 2019. In the baseless, unverified and outrageous statement, I am accused that while I was working as Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Uganda, I engaged in Human Rights violations, corruption, and smuggling drugs, gold and wildlife.
“This is not only absolutely false but outrageous and infuriating, especially that these accusations and decisions have been made without according me an opportunity to respond to them, whereby I would give evidence to the contrary. The United States Government was known as a government that believed in due process, rule of law and democracy. There was absolutely no due process accorded to me before false wild and defamatory statements about my person and my record were issued from Washington, without any bother to verify such allegations, which are in actual fact against the state of Uganda for which I was working.
A number of Ugandans on Twitter have cheered the US government’s action as the most visible action seen to be taken against Gen. Kayihura but also against an unaccountable Ugandan government. Many consider Kayihura as unpunished for his role in documented human rights violations crimes committed while he was in office.
Others have however moaned the US move as another sign of big brother patronization against a small country like Uganda.
Below are some of the reactions captured people’s Twitter conversations.
