The US ambassador to Uganda Ms Deborah Malac has responded to criticism that implicate the US government in supporting uprisings and protests in Uganda.
Using the official Embassy twitter account, Amb. Malac denied allegations that the US mission plays a partisan role in Uganda’s politics, and funds protests to destabilize government.
“Allegations that we pay students to protest are absolutely false. We support Ugandan’s peaceful exercise of their constitutional right to free expression, and we do not take sides in Uganda’s politics” she tweeted on Tuesday morning.
Her remarks follow reports from government circles indicating that some foreign missions are funding and instigating demonstrations with hope of causing regime change. The reports followed protests by Makerere University students over a new fees policy which they say is unfair.
The protests that started two weeks ago, culminated into injuries and damage of property as security forces deployed to quell the riots broke into halls of residence, flogged and brutalized students prompting a statement from the US mission on October 28, condemning the brutality of the army.
The US mission urged the government of Uganda to allow all Ugandans to exercise their basic rights peacefully and without fear.
The next day, the Minister for education Hon. Janet Kataha Museveni also released a statement indicating that students’ protests were being supported by unscrupulous people and funded by “some unknown sources.”
The Ambassador’s remarks come a day after a section of Ugandan legislators questioned her conduct accusing her of meddling in Uganda’s internal affairs. The MP’s accuse Amb. Malac of advocating for introduction of GMO technology in Uganda, and directly interfering into domestic policies which they say contradicts the diplomatic etiquette.