US Bans Uganda Speaker, Army Chief, Ministers Entry

The United States has imposed an entry ban on five Ugandan public officials, including the Speaker of Parliament and the former Deputy Chief of Defence Forces.

This action adds to the pressure on Kampala to address concerns regarding the integrity and human rights record of its officials.

This move follows similar sanctions announced by the United Kingdom against the leader of Uganda’s national assembly and two former ministers just a month ago.

According to a statement from the US State Department dated May 30, 2024, Speaker Anita Among has been sanctioned for her involvement in significant corruption linked to her leadership of Uganda’s Parliament. The UK had also imposed sanctions on the Speaker in April for corruption, resulting in the freezing of her assets and financial holdings in London.

The US has also  imposed sanctions on former Minister of Karamoja Affairs Mary Goretti Kitutu, her deputy Agnes Nandutu, and Minister of State for Finance Amos Lugolobi for engaging in substantial corruption that involved misusing public resources and diverting materials meant for Uganda’s most vulnerable communities.

Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the Department of State, stated that these officials exploited their public roles for personal gain, disregarding the well-being of Ugandan citizens.

But in breaking ranks with the UK, Washington aimed at the military, President Museveni’s most trusted state institution, by sanctioning Lt-Gen Peter Elwelu, who until two months ago was the deputy CDF of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF).

He is sanctioned for his involvement in gross violations of human rights.

“Specifically, Peter Elwelu was involved, while commanding UPDF forces, in extrajudicial killings that members of the UPDF committed.  As a result of these actions, the designated Ugandan officials are generally ineligible for entry into the United States,” the statement reads.

In 2016, while he was Commander of UPDF’s Second Division, Elwelu led the attack on the palace of the Rwenzururu King Charles Wesley Mumbere, resulting in a massacre that left a chilling air all over the area’s main town Kasese, with over 100 people killed, including children and more than 180 others arrested and detained.