Sunday, January 25, 2026 - Senator Jim Risch, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has urged President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Ugandan military leader, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, following reports of severe violence during Uganda’s recently concluded 2026 General Elections.
In a statement issued on Friday, Risch called
for a comprehensive reassessment of U.S.-Uganda security cooperation, citing
what he described as rapidly deteriorating human rights conditions under
President Yoweri Museveni’s administration.
The Senator’s remarks came just hours before
opposition leader, Bobi Wine, reported a violent raid on his home.
Wine stated that masked, armed soldiers
stormed his residence around midnight, assaulting family members and isolating
his wife, Barbie Kyagulanyi. He said the intentions of the attackers remained
unclear.
The diplomatic pressure follows the Electoral
Commission’s announcement declaring President Museveni the winner with 7.9
million votes, securing a contentious seventh term.
His main challenger, Bobi Wine, received 2.7
million votes and has rejected the results, alleging widespread fraud and
intimidation.
Concerns have intensified after General
Muhoozi publicly claimed responsibility for killing 22 supporters of the
National Unity Platform (NUP), labeling them terrorists.
In inflammatory online posts, he threatened
further violence, including direct threats against Bobi Wine.
Senator Risch condemned the election as a
“hollow exercise” designed to legitimize Museveni’s four decades in power,
drawing parallels with recent democratic backsliding in Tanzania.
He criticized the Ugandan Government for
employing political violence, abductions, intimidation and misuse of state
resources to maintain control.
The election period was marked by the arrest
of more than 2,000 people and a nationwide internet shutdown on January 13th,
which hindered independent verification of results.
Technical failures in biometric voter systems
also forced manual voting, raising further questions about credibility.
0 Comments