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R.Halperin's news

 UGANDA: Leading human rights campaigner Livingstone Sewanyana on Monday called for the Ugandan government to abolish the death penalty as part of its ongoing constitutional review. Sewanyana, chairman of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), was quoted by the government-owned 'New Vision' newspaper as saying that Uganda's retention of the death penalty was inconsistent with its constitution's overall commitment to human rights. "Uganda's failure to take a progressive stance on capital punishment undermines its commitment under the international human rights instruments to which it is party," he added. Giving evidence to the Constitutional Review Commission, Sewanyana said there were currently about 300 prisoners awaiting execution, with another 6,000 being held on remand for capital offences. Some prisoners had spent more than 20 years on 'death row', he said. "Retention of the death penalty represents a failure to harmonise domestic law with international human rights norms," Sewanyana added.

According to the independent 'Monitor' newspaper, 52 death sentences have been carried out in Uganda since President Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM) came to power in 1986. The last executions took place in 1999 when 29 men, including former Uganda People's Congress (UPC) chairman for Luwero District, Hajji Musa Sebirumbi, were hanged at Luzira maximum security prison, it said.