Four anti-torture activists held on way to House

Four members of the Torture Survivors Movement UG activists were arrested in Kampala yesterday as they marched to petition the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, on the increasing torture cases of Ugandan migrant workers.
Mr Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan deputy police spokesperson, said the suspects were taken to Central Police Station and would be charged with inciting violence.
The accused include Mr Richard Ssebuganda, Mr John Bosco Sserunkumma, Mr Brian Ssemanda, and Mr Moses Sserugo.
A section of the public condemned the manner in which the group was arrested.

The leader of the National Unity Platform, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, said the government should listen and act on the activists’ demands instead of arresting them.
“I condemn the violent arrest of young activists who went to Parliament to deliver a petition and protest against the continuing violation of the rights of Ugandan immigrant workers. Listen to pleas of Ugandans stranded abroad, instead of brutalising those speaking about it,” Bobi Wine tweeted.
Last month, the activists carried an empty coffin as they protested at the Saudi Arabia embassy in Kampala following the death of Caroline Kyomuhangi, a migrant worker. She is said to have died on June 24 while on duty in Saudi Arabia.
The activists were protesting the delayed return of her body. One suspect was arrested and the coffin confiscated.
In an earlier interview, Mr Aggrey Kibenge, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development attributed the increasing number of torture cases to illegal trade.

Mr Kibenge said out of more than 200,000 Ugandan migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, only 140,000 were externalised through legally registered companies, which makes the ministry’s monitoring process difficult.
“Not all Ugandan migrant workers being tortured were externalised legally that is why many are tortured and the authorities fail to do the follow-ups,” Mr Kibenge said.
He said other causes include employers denying workers access to their phones, some workers engaging in love relationships with their bosses, and others failing to meet their employers’ demands.

GOVT EFFORTS
Gender ministry PS Aggrey Kibenge said the government has been  engaging their Saudi Arabia counterparts since February to ensure that a final agreement is reached to end torture cases. 
The government also increased the number of orientation days for migrant workers from seven to 14 to ensure that they are well trained and get enough time to understand all the clauses of the work agreement. He also urged migrant workers to go through registered recruiting agencies and report cases to the ministry’s website via the External Employment Management Information System.