By Andrew Irumba
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has issued a statement explaining sanctions America slapped on former IGP Gen. Kale Kayihura over gross human rights abuse and corruption.
The US government on Friday issued sanctions against Gen. Kayihura, his wife and two children, on grounds that he allegedly got involved in acts of human rights violation during his tenure as Inspector General of Police. Shortly after issuing the sanctions Secretary Pompeo tweeted thus; “Today I publicly designated former Inspector General of the #Uganda Police Force Kale Kayihura for his involvement in gross violations of #HumanRights. We will continue to promote accountability for those who violate human rights.”
He thereafter issued a full statement which is reproduced here below;
The Department is publicly designating Kale Kayihura, the former Inspector General of the Uganda Police Force and its commanding officer from 2005-2018, under Section 7031(c) of the FY 2019 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, due to his involvement in gross violations of human rights. Specifically, the Department has credible information that Kayihura was involved in torture and/or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, through command responsibility of the Flying Squad, a specialized unit of the Uganda Police Force that reported directly to Kayihura. The Treasury Department is concurrently designating Kayihura pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign officials have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States. The law also requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their immediate family members. In addition to the public designation of Kale Kayihura, the Department is also publicly designating his spouse, Angela Umurisa Gabuka, his daughter, Tesi Uwibambe, and his son, Kale Rudahigwa.
In Executive Order 13818, the President declared a national emergency with respect to serious human rights abuses and corruption globally, which constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. Through this E.O., the President has authorized the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of State to impose economic sanctions and visa restrictions, respectively, on persons determined, among other things, to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse or corruption.
These actions against Kale Kayihura underscore our concern with human rights violations and abuses in Uganda, as well as our support for accountability for those who engage in such violations and abuses. We call on the Ugandan government to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.
