Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa violently arrested at peaceful protest
In January 2020, the head of Kira Road police station informed woman human rights defender Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa that the case against her was closed and that she was no longer required to report to police station.
On 9 October 2019, woman human rights defender Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa was violently arrested at a peaceful protest that she organised in the city of Kampala. The demonstration was staged in protest against police brutality and human rights abuses in Uganda.
Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa is an independent woman human rights defender. In recent years, she has defended civil and political rights in Uganda and demonstrated against the attack and imprisonment of human rights defenders and peaceful protesters in Uganda.
In January 2020, the head of Kira Road police station informed woman human rights defender Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa that the case against her was closed and that she was no longer required to report to police station.
On 9 October 2019, Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa was violently arrested during a peaceful protest that she organised in Kampala. The defender was released on bail without charges and required to regularly report to the police station.
On 9 October 2019, woman human rights defender Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa was violently arrested at a peaceful protest that she organised in the city of Kampala. The demonstration was staged in protest against police brutality and human rights abuses in the Uganda.
Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa is an independent woman human rights defender. In recent years, she she has defended civil and political rights in Uganda and demonstrated against the attack and imprisonment of human rights defenders and peaceful protesters in Uganda.
Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa publicly highlights instances of police brutality in Uganda. She publicly condemned the use of tear gas which resulted in a student losing his hand while peacefully protesting on 28 March 2019. On 6 March 2019 she used social media to seek signatures for a petition against police brutality. On 24 April 2019, Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa was brutally attacked by police while seven months pregnant. She was hospitalised and required to deliver her child prematurely, losing her uterus in the process.
On 9 October 2019, Ugandan Independence Day, Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa staged a protest against increased police brutality against Ugandan citizens. While distributing books written about freedom, police forcibly took her baby from her and dragged her into a police truck. She was driven to Kira Road Police Station where she was denied permission to see her baby. Police released her on bail and she is required to regularly report to her local police station. Upon her lawyers insistence, she was released on bail along with her baby, who has become weak and developed a cold. At the hospital, Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa was diagnosed with soft tissue damage.
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned about the violent arrest of Nana Mwafrika Mbarikiwa and believes that she is required to regularly report to the police so that they impede the progression of her work in defence of human rights. Front Line Defenders condemns the ongoing human rights violations by security forces and recognises them as part of an effort to clamp down on dissent, specifically against human rights defenders fighting for civil and political rights in Uganda.
