Kampala City, Uganda: The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has strongly condemned the prosecution and remand of former Ethics and Integrity Minister Miria Matembe, demanding that the Director of Public Prosecutions immediately withdraw the charges against her and calling for an independent investigation into what it describes as her “abduction” and “enforced disappearance.”
The statement, issued Tuesday by ULS President Isaac K. Ssemakadde, came hours after the 73-year-old former minister was arraigned before the Grade One Magistrate’s Court in Luzira and charged with promoting sectarianism contrary to Section 38(1)(d) of the Penal Code Act before being remanded to Luzira Prison.
According to the charge sheet table before court on Tuesday, prosecutors allege that Matembe made remarks during a programme on DK TV Uganda that were likely to promote hostility or ill will against members of the Banyankole ethnic community. She denied the charge.
Her lawyers applied for bail, citing ill health, but the court deferred the application after ruling that it could not proceed without the required supporting evidence and scheduled the matter for hearing on Wednesday, July 1.
In its statement, however, the Uganda Law Society argued that the prosecution followed an unlawful detention.
“The Uganda Law Society (ULS) is deeply alarmed by the abduction, enforced disappearance, and subsequent politically motivated prosecution of Hon. Miria Matembe, a senior citizen, respected lawyer, and prominent civil society activist,” the statement reads.
President Ssemakadde alleged that Matembe was forcibly taken on June 28 by armed men claiming to be security officers and held incommunicado at an undisclosed location before being produced in court.
He further criticised the manner in which she was remanded. “Citing court hours, Magistrate Sheila Gloria Atim remanded the 73-year-old former member of the Uganda Constitutional Commission to Luzira Prison despite her stated severe pain and need for urgent medical examination, prioritising time over health and liberty,” the statement said.
ULS described the case as raising serious constitutional and legal concerns, alleging violations that include enforced disappearance, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, suppression of freedom of expression, and political persecution.
The society further argued that the actions amounted to breaches of Uganda’s obligations under both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Among its demands, the Bar wants an immediate withdrawal of the charges against Matembe, an independent investigation into her alleged abduction, disappearance and treatment while in custody, restoration of her constitutional rights, and an end to what it described as the criminalisation of legitimate political expression.
“We therefore demand that the Director of Public Prosecutions immediately withdraw all charges against Hon. Miria Matembe,” Ssemakadde wrote.
ULS also called upon the United Nations, the African Union, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and international bar associations to engage the Government of Uganda over the matter.
“The rule of law in Uganda is under severe threat. The ULS will continue to monitor this case closely and provide all necessary legal support to Hon. Matembe and other victims of political persecution,” the statement added.
Matembe’s arrest followed several days of public concern over her whereabouts after reports emerged that security operatives had raided her residence before she was later taken into custody. The case has attracted widespread attention from opposition politicians, lawyers, civil society organisations and women’s rights activists, many of whom have questioned the circumstances surrounding her arrest and detention.
Government authorities and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had not publicly responded to the Uganda Law Society’s latest demands by press time on Wednesday afternoon.
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