Gill
Bonnett, Immigration Reporter
An activist
detained and beaten for his 30-year involvement in political
opposition in Uganda has become a refugee in New
Zealand.
The man believed his farm was set on fire
because of his work against the ruling party and Yoweri
Museveni who has been president since 1986.
He told
the immigration and protection tribunal he was offered money
to support the government.
The man was repeatedly
questioned, detained and beaten by government officials
because of his support of two opposition parties, and had
two scars from the incidents.
“He was detained in a
police station and the officers attempted to extract
information about who he was reporting to, by using pliers
on his stomach,” the tribunal’s recent decisions said. “He
has been left with another scar from this. He was in such
severe pain that he did identify some individuals and was
then released.”
After moving abroad, he was detained
at the airport when he returned.
His name and the
events that prompted his departure to New Zealand were
redacted by the tribunal, so that he and his family could
not be identified by Ugandan authorities.
“The
Tribunal is satisfied that the appellant faces a real chance
of serious harm in Uganda by government agents, in the form
of breaches of his rights to freedom from torture, cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment, arbitrary arrest and
detention and/or arbitrary deprivation of life, as well as
freedom of expression.”
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It said state control and
dissident repression in Uganda is widespread and severe,
including allegations of arbitrary killings and
disappearances of opposition supporters, voter intimidation,
harassment of the opposition and the closure of social media
websites.
He had been cautious about his online
activities after a WhatsApp group of political opponents in
the UAE was infiltrated.
His wife and fellow
dissidents had been preparing to give video evidence in his
case, but were warned not to because of the extent of
government surveillance of
communications.
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