Ugandan soldiers accused of sexual abuses in CAR

By Halima Athumani

KAMPALA, Uganda

Ugandan soldiers operating in the Central African Republic (CAR) have been accused of sexually exploiting and abusing at least 13 women and girls since 2015.

In a report released on Monday, a global rights group said the exploitation included at least one rape, while some victims were threatened to remain silent.

The Ugandan military has been deployed in the country since 2009 as a part of the African Union’s Regional Task Force to eliminate the Uganda rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), but recently announced it is withdrawing its troops.

Lewis Mudge, a researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said: “As counter-LRA operations wind down, Uganda’s military should not ignore allegations of sexual exploitation and rape by its soldiers in the Central African Republic.”

The rights group demanded the Ugandan and African Union authorities to proper investigate the crimes committed by soldiers and make sure the affected women and girls get the services they need.

“Fifteen of the women and girls interviewed said they had sex with Ugandan military personnel in exchange for food or money because the ongoing conflict and their displacement had left them desperate,” the report said.

But, Brigadier Richard Kalemire, the Ugandan military spokesperson tells Anadolu Agency: “It’s never our policy to exploit or abuse women, we have zero tolerance to misconduct.”

Promising to scrutinize the report and conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations, the spokesperson stressed that each officer in Foreign Services is given training and guidance on the code of conduct.

“Any officer found culpable shall face the strong arm of the law,” he added.

In 2016, the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights reported 14 cases of rape by Ugandan forces in the country, including cases involving victims who were children at the time.