A Ugandan activist, one of dozens detained this week for participating in banned demonstrations, was sexually assaulted in custody, his lawyer said.
More than 90 young people Were arrested and some were accused of constituting a public nuisance in the wake of anti-corruption protests that hit the capital, Kampala.
Some of those released from detention also reportedly claimed to have been victims of sexual violence while in police cells, sparking widespread criticism. But the police denied the accusation.
The two days of anti-corruption demonstrations took place on Tuesday and Thursday, despite a warning from the President Yoweri Museveni that the protesters were “playing with fire“.
The protesters, inspired by recent anti-tax demonstrations in Kenya, demanded the resignation of the speaker of parliament, who was accused of corruption, which she denied.
But Ugandan riot police quickly broke up the protests, placing several young activists, including a prominent television presenter, in the back of trucks.
Some face multiple charges, but an unknown number remain in police custody, local media reported.
Referring to allegations of sexual assault that his client suffered, lawyer Eron Kiiza said that although it was not common for people to be attacked in this way in police cells, it did happen.
“He was sodomized immediately after being detained,” he told the BBC.
The US embassy in Kampala said in a statement: “We call for any allegations of individuals assaulted during detention to be investigated and for perpetrators to be held accountable.”
However, police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and “malicious”.
“The police are very aware of the rights of suspects and take their responsibilities seriously,” Rusoke added in a statement.
Kiiza explained that police believe the protesters are supported by foreign financiers – a reference to those who have cut off funding or been critical of Uganda for adopting the world’s toughest anti-homosexuality laws last year.
“The police think that homosexuals are financing the protests,” he said, adding that his client was told during the attack: “‘Now you deserve it.’
“This happens in the wake of the desperation of some police officers [who are trying] find a link between the protests and so-called foreign financiers”, said the lawyer.
“It’s like an act of revenge.”
Kiiza said he had medical documents proving the sexual abuse and would use them to sue authorities once his client’s treatment and rehabilitation was complete.
He declined to name his client or the station where the alleged abuse occurred, citing security fears.
Other activists, both men and women, were also sexually abused while in detention, opposition leader Bobi Wine alleged.
“Only a few of them had the courage to speak publicly about their ordeal. Many of them reported it to us but are afraid or embarrassed to talk about it in public,” said Bobi Wine, a former pop star whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, added.
The allegation sparked an uproar on social media, with Ugandans calling for an independent investigation into the matter.
“If it’s true, the people who are doing this can judge you by the Lord!” Minister of Youth, Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, posted on X.
The minister acknowledged that the accusations were dehumanizing and said the country’s police chief should investigate them.
On Thursday, President Museveni praised the police for ending the protests, which he said were funded by “foreign sources”.
“Very bad things” would be revealed in court about the protesters, he added in his post on X.
Amnesty International called for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained.
“The heavy-handed tactics used by the Ugandan government to suppress and silence peaceful protesters show an overt repression of dissent,” the rights group added. in a statement.
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