With the hashtag; #Ugandaisbleeding, this tweet shared five images to supposedly portray violations against human rights in the country. In this fact-check, we establish where and when these images were taken.
Background
On January 17, 2021, President Yoweri Museveni was re-elected into office in an election overshadowed by killings and human rights violations.
A report by the Human Rights Watch had highlighted these violations before the elections. One of these was restrictions on freedom of expression after the Uganda Communications Commission issued a public notice requiring providers of online data and communication to seek authorization from the UCC before offering these services.
Verification
The first image showing a man being beaten by police officers was taken in Kampala on August 20, 2018. From a reverse image search, the Observer says, the man pictured is James Akena, a photojournalist with Reuters.
With this information, results from Twitter show the same image was shared widely in protests against these violations by the military.
Another reverse image search shows the second image (taken from a different angle) and third image were featured on a fact-check published by Africa Check on November 18, 2019. It dates the images to 2017. This, according to Free Uganda, was taken during a massacre in Kasese; western Uganda.
The fourth image was taken in Cameroon. This reverse image search leads to an article published by Cameroon News Agency on November 25, 2018. According to CNA, the Ambazonia fighters and surrounding residents were killed and set ablaze by soldiers in Bali, the North Western region of Cameroon.
The fifth image on the other hand was taken in Rwanda. From this reverse image search, an article published on April 16, 2020, by the Rwanda Tribune says the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) launched an attack on the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (DFLR). With gruesome images from the attack, it further adds, 43 FDLR soldiers were killed including Col. Minani JMV, former FDLR member.
Verdict
The 1st three images were taken in Uganda at different times, however, the last two were taken in Cameroon and Rwanda respectively.
This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
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