National Security Council to sit over missing Ugandans
Tayebwa told Parliament today (October 22) that the Minister of Internal Affairs (Ephraim Kamuntu) had informed him that Cabinet had directed that the matter first be presented to the National Security Council for consideration before a statement could be made to Parliament.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa urged the Minister of Internal Affairs to push for the Council to meet and conclude its deliberations so that Parliament could receive the statement. (File photos)
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The National Security Council is scheduled to sit to discuss, among other issues, the whereabouts of Ugandans reported missing or detained incommunicado.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa told Parliament today (October 22) that the Minister of Internal Affairs (Ephraim Kamuntu) had informed him that Cabinet had directed that the matter first be presented to the National Security Council for consideration before a statement could be made to Parliament.
“The Minister of Internal Affairs has said all those issues to do with security and individuals, who have reportedly been missing, are going to be presented to the National Security Council, discussed and then a statement will be brought here (in Parliament).
He presented the issues to Cabinet, and Cabinet said they should first be taken to the Council, have its input, and then present them here,” Tayebwa said.
With the National Security Council yet to discuss the matter, Tayebwa said Parliament cannot, therefore, promise when the report will be presented.
The deputy speaker said the Minister will have to wait for the Council to convene and consider the matter before returning to Parliament with the Government's response.
“I am constrained to give the National Security Council a timeline. I can only urge the Minister to push so that the Council sits, discusses the statement, and then it is represented here,” he said.
National Security Council is an advisory body to the President on all matters relating to national security and other matters connected to security.
Two weeks ago, Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth directed government to provide a detailed report within two weeks on missing individuals whose names were submitted by Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi.
Ssenyonyi expressed concern that some of the people reported missing had spent weeks without being produced before courts of law.
He said Parliament needed a firm commitment from government that the cases were being handled urgently rather than receiving repeated explanations for the delay.
“We want a commitment from the Government that these issues are being handled urgently. They present excuses again and again. These people have spent weeks and weeks. The people have not been produced in court. What if the Council takes months?” Oboth wondered.
He said he was reluctant to put additional pressure on the Government Chief Whip, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, because she had been communicating with him about the matter.
At that point, Ssenyonyi chipped in; “When we raise these issues, she writes and copies me in, and I sympathise with her. But we want a commitment from government that these issues are being handled urgently.”
Ssenyonyi expressed doubt that government would provide answers promptly, questioning what would happen if the National Security Council took another three or six months to convene.
“I’m struggling to believe them,” he said.
Ssenyonyi said he had already provided the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the names and other details of missing persons requested for by government, but was still waiting for clear answers about the individuals' whereabouts.
He also referred to videos and images circulating on social media that purportedly show places where people are detained and tortured, challenging government to establish the facts and produce any detainees before court where applicable.
The opposition leader said the continued uncertainty was causing distress to families and raising concerns about respect for the rule of law.
The Government Chief Whip (Aceng) said the Government was working on resolving the cases and that the relevant ministries were compiling information on the individuals named by the opposition.
Aceng said that following discussions with the Minister of Internal Affairs, she had been informed that the Ministry had engaged the Ministry of Defence on the matter.
Aceng added that she had received a letter from the Minister explaining that the statement had to be presented to the National Security Council before it could be brought to Parliament.
“Let’s be patient. It will come,” she added.
Aceng had previously requested for approximately two weeks to enable the responsible ministries to compile a report addressing the names submitted by Ssenyonyi. She said government would provide explanations on a case-by-case basis.
“They will produce a report. If they have the people, they will say so. Let them come and explain name by name since they have now the names,” Aceng stated.