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Thousands of Ugandans living in Canada — organised by chapters of the National Unity Platform (NUP) and allied diaspora groups — held coordinated demonstrations on Saturday, September 13, 2024, to denounce what they described as a sustained campaign of repression, abductions and human-rights violations in Uganda. Protesters gathered in major urban centres to call on Canadian and other Western governments, international bodies and the UN to impose sanctions, investigate enforced disappearances, and demand accountability from Kampala.
Organisers said the rallies were part of a wider “NUP Global Diaspora” weekend of action timed to draw attention to a wave of disappearances and violent crackdowns against opposition activists and supporters inside Uganda. Demonstrators carried placards reading “Stop Abductions,” “Free Political Prisoners,” and “Diaspora for Democracy,” and staged short marches and vigils outside consular offices and civic squares. According to event pages and posts by NUP diaspora organisers, the Canada events formed one node of a global programme of protests planned by the party’s international chapters.
Speakers at the Toronto gatherings highlighted several recent incidents they say exemplify a pattern of targeted repression. They singled out the reported abduction of Doreen Kaija, coordinator of the NUP School of Leadership, who family and party officials say was picked up from her home by heavily armed men and taken to an undisclosed location. Senior NUP figures and social-media posts from the party’s leadership publicly decried Kaija’s disappearance and called for urgent international intervention.
Human-rights organisations and independent observers have regularly criticised Uganda’s record on civil liberties, documenting arrests, restrictions on political assembly and allegations of torture and enforced disappearances. Reports compiled by rights groups and press coverage over recent years have recorded multiple incidents in which opposition members were detained without charge and in some cases released later with evidence of mistreatment. Protesters in Canada cited those reports to argue that diaspora pressure could help catalyse stronger international measures.
A non-exhaustive list of recent abduction and disappearance incidents referenced by organisers and media coverage includes:
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High-profile arrests and alleged abductions of NUP mobilisers and local-level organisers following protests and partisan campaigning across Kampala, Masaka, Mpigi and other districts.
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Repeated raids on NUP offices and the party’s leadership school, which sources say have resulted in property damage, seizures and the disappearance of staff or organisers.
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Reports from the party and its allies of supporters picked up in “drone” vans and dropped off later, sometimes with injuries and signs of ill-treatment.
Organisers asked Canadian authorities to: (1) publicly condemn enforced disappearances and intimidation against political opposition in Uganda; (2) investigate and consider visa restrictions or targeted sanctions against those credibly implicated in abuses; and (3) provide safe-haven and asylum support for victims and witnesses fleeing persecution. Protesters also urged mainstream Canadian media and civil-society groups to amplify victims’ stories and press for UN engagement.
Responses from officials were mixed. Local police in some cities monitored demonstrations but reported they were peaceful; Canadian federal officials did not issue an immediate policy statement directly tied to the Sept. 13 rallies, while advocacy groups and a number of MPs sympathetic to the diaspora called for closer scrutiny of Uganda’s human-rights practices.
