The Leader of Opposition (LOP), Joel Ssenyonyi has tabled before Parliament, a list of the detained without trial & missing National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters as requested for by Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, the new Minister of State for Youth Affairs.
“I seek your indulgence so that for the umpteenth time, I table those lists again so that there is no excuse from anybody because; there are people who are saying NUP isn’t availing these lists.
All of a sudden, there are some people who care so much about these people. It is good that they now agree with us that these people are simply being persecuted,” said Ssenyonyi.
"Otherwise, if there was any offence that they committed, 3years down the road, somebody should have been tried, so it is good that they are seeing what we have been saying.
So, for there not to be pretense, for there not to be excuse especially from Government who sit with us here in Parliament where we have tabled lists, I seek your indulgence that I table these lists again," he added.
Ssenyonyi reemphasized the need for Parliament to orient new members arguing that had Balaam undergone some training on parliamentary affairs, he would have known where and how to access those lists within Parliament.
Barnabas Tinkasimire (Buyaga West MP) sought clarification on what basis Balaam demanded these lists, wondering if he was going to apply for amnesty of these people through the Amnesty Commission.
“I am finding what we are discussing strange and I will need guidance. We have the Amnesty law in this country, when the lists are laid before Parliament as requested by Balaam, are we handling some amnesty process?
Because as far as I know, when you are suspected to commit a crime, you are produced before courts of law and a due process is followed. It is those who choose to ask for Amnesty and formally apply for it in the Amnesty Commission that are given Amnesty. Was he applying for Amnesty?” remarked Tinkasimire.
Ssenyonyi's predecessor, Mathias Mpuuga, also tabled the lists but no action was taken even when the When he was Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja acknowledged knowing where some of the missing persons like John Bosco Kibalama are being held by government.
"We've tabled these lists in Parliament before, shared the same with Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), and the same records are in court where the matters are.
So for those fellows in government who say they agree with us that their government is brutal and continues to illegally detain political opponents, they can access the lists, and stop pretending that they don't know who these people are or where the lists are."
"We continue to demand for the immediate release of these Ugandans who are being persecuted. Recently, myself and other MPs stood surety for those in jail after the court martial irregularly rejected their parents and spouses as sureties saying they are not substantial," he said.
He added: "On 15th April, the Court Martial is going to rule on our substantiality as sureties. If the court martial thinks Parents, Spouses and National leaders are not substantial sureties for these persecuted people, we shall demand that they tell us who we should bring to court that is substantial enough."