Uganda chastises US over sanctions on senior officials

Kampala. The Ugandan government on Friday criticised the United States after it announced sanctions against five senior officials for alleged involvement in corruption or human rights abuses.

The US State Department said on Thursday it was slapping travel bans on Uganda's parliament speaker as well as the former deputy army chief and three other former or current ministers.

But Ugandan Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi said the US action was "not the right thing to do".

"It is prudent Western governments respect sovereignty of other countries and should not pass judgements against their institutions," Baryomunsi told AFP.

The State Department accused parliament speaker Anita Among of "involvement in significant corruption tied to her leadership of Uganda's Parliament".

It also designated Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu -- previously ministers responsible for Uganda's isolated and impoverished border region of Karamoja -- and state minister for finance Amos Lugolobi.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement the three had "misused public resources and diverted materials from Uganda's neediest communities". 

Miller said Peter Elwelu, former deputy chief of the Ugandan Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF), was sanctioned over "gross violations of human rights", accusing him of involvement in extrajudicial killings by the armed forces.

Kitutu, Nandutu and Lugolobi are on trial in Uganda accused of stealing iron sheets destined for the poor under a government-funded project and redirecting them to politicians and their families.

"The American government should not judge people unless they have been proven guilty. So sanctioning officials undergoing a court system and passing judgement is not the right thing to do," Baryomunsi said.

It was "surprising" the US government sanctioned Among when no formal charges have been laid against her, he added.

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, welcomed the US move and said he hoped similar action would be taken against other officials.

"This sends a clear message to those responsible for gross violations of human rights; those responsible for the plunder of our nation's resources, that yes, today they control all institutions that should be holding them accountable, but they are not far from accountability," he said on X on Thursday.

In April, the British government also imposed travel bans and asset freezes on Among, Kitutu and Nandutu over graft allegations.