UN rights chief decries 'repressive tactics' in Uganda ahead of vote

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00:00The Ugandan presidential election campaign is in full swing.

00:04With the vote set to be held for the 15th of January,

00:06eight candidates, including President Yoweri Museveni

00:09and leading opposition figure Bobby Wine,

00:12are vying for the country's top job.

00:14However, on Wednesday, the United Nations decried

00:16an intensifying crackdown on the opposition,

00:19with the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk,

00:23urging Ugandan authorities to end what he calls

00:26repressive tactics against them and the media.

00:28Our regional correspondent, Juliette Montilly, reports.

00:35According to the U.N., at least 550 members

00:39and ordinary supporters of the National Unity platform,

00:43Bobby Wine's party, have been arrested in Uganda

00:46since the start of the year.

00:48Many remain behind bars, facing charges ranging from

00:51public disorder to obstruction of justice.

00:54This is significant also because most of them were detained

00:57during the election campaign, a fact the opposition,

01:02especially Bobby Wine himself, has been loudly denouncing for weeks now.

01:06And there's also the case, of course, of long-time opposition figure

01:10Kissa Bessigier, detained since last year,

01:14accused of plotting against the government.

01:17Beyond these arrests,

01:18the U.N. reports alleged disappearances and torture,

01:22repeated violations of press freedom along with the use of excessive force by security services.

01:28This comes after at least one person was killed during an opposition rally last week.

01:34These incidents have raised serious concerns of a possible repeat of the last presidential election

01:41The U.N. reported at least 54 people were killed by security forces

01:47and the Ugandan opposition denounced a vote marred by irregularities.

01:52The U.N. reported at least 54 people were killed byها as the latest Television

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