US accused of trying to sabotage Uganda elections

The Ugandan government has accused the US of trying to overturn the recently announced election results after Natalie Brown, the US ambassador to Uganda, was stopped from visiting Robert Kyagulanyi, the presidential runner-up who is under house arrest.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ofwono Opondo, Uganda's government spokesman, urged Brown to stop meddling in the affairs of the country, saying she should not do anything outside diplomatic norms.

"What she has been trying to do blatantly is to meddle in Uganda's internal politics, particularly elections, to subvert our elections and the will of the people. She shouldn't do anything outside diplomatic norms," Opondo said.

According to the results announced by Uganda's election officials on Saturday, president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, was declared the winner with 59 percent of the vote against 35 percent for Kyagulanyi, who became famous after years of singing about government corruption and nepotism, charges the government denies.

Uganda police spokesman Fred Enanga also questioned the motive behind the visit by the American diplomat and the US' direct involvement in Uganda's domestic politics.

"What role does America play in the politics of this country? Does the American ambassador have any personal attachment to Kyagulanyi? That then raises even more suspicions, what was she going to do there?" Enanga said.

Enanga added that police were deployed to Kyagulanyi's residence to restrain the opposition leader's movement as a preventive measure following intelligence received about planned riots and protests countrywide.

In response, the US said in a statement issued by its embassy in Uganda that its envoys regularly meet with actors across Uganda's political spectrum as part of the embassy's diplomatic engagement. According to the statement, the purpose of Brown's visit was to check on Kyagulanyi's health and safety, given that he's effectively been unable to leave his home, with security forces surrounding his residence.

"We call on the Ugandan government to respect their citizens' human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press, as provided for in Uganda's own constitution and according to commitments Uganda has made to uphold international human rights standards," the statement said.

On Jan 13, a day before the elections were held, the United States cancelled its decision to observe polling after Uganda's electoral commission failed to accredit all its observers. According to Brown, only 15 of its observers had been granted access to the polls.

However, Atillio Pacifici, the head of the European Union delegation in Uganda, said on Friday, a day after the election, that they are impressed with the level of organization and peaceful conduct exhibited during the presidential and parliamentary elections held the previous day.

"We saw an extremely well-organized election exercise with people very orderly waiting to cast their votes and everything went on very peacefully. We are very impressed and can report that electoral commission presiding officers were very professional," Pacifici said.