Government says it has established that some reports about missing persons are just ‘smear campaign’ for people to attain better lives abroad.
Presenting the much anticipated statement on alleged human rights abuses and the ‘shrinking civic space’ as raised by the opposition in parliament, the State Minister for Internal Affairs, Mr David Muhoozi said some reports are ‘well-orchestrated campaigns’ against government as people claim political persecution back home.
He expressed dismay at how first host countries believe the allegations without investigation.
“In a nutshell, lack of cooperation and the refusal to report, coupled with the other concerns raised in this response,
make it extremely difficult to come to the bottom of the matter of alleged disappeared persons,” the report reads in part.
“The next of kin of the reported missing persons did not cooperate with the police investigators. The Police team had to hold out as members of an NGO, in order to interview these people,” the report reads further.
Today, members of the opposition returned for plenary sittings after about a month since they took a decision to boycott the same.
They had demanded government’s statement addressing the sequence of concerns on human rights, top on the list being the disappearance of opposition supporters.