By Sekaggya Seka Moses
Kampala, Uganda – 25 November 2025 – The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has issued a strong statement denouncing the use of police dogs as a crowd‑control measure during the National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential campaign held in Kawempe on 24 November 2025.
Media reports and video footage circulating on social media indicate that officers from the Uganda Police Force deployed canine units amid heavy security presence, tear‑gas dispersals, and violent arrests of civilians.
In its statement, ULS described the deployment of dogs at a political rally as a “grave breach of the citizen’s right to peaceful assembly.”
The society drew parallels to historical abuses, noting that police dogs were weaponised during apartheid South Africa and the U.S. civil‑rights era to intimidate and suppress dissent, and warned that similar tactics today reflect a continuity of colonial‑era oppression.
ULS underscored that the Police Canine Unit’s mandate is limited to crime‑scene investigation, narcotics and explosives detection, tracking, and search‑and‑rescue operations, not political intimidation.
The organization also expressed deep concern over indiscriminate arrests in Kawempe, where bystanders not involved in the rally were detained, constituting an abuse of the rule of law and violations of constitutional rights to liberty and due process.
The society has therefore demanded:
1. An immediate and unconditional halt to the use of police dogs at any political rally or campaign.
2. The prompt release of all innocent civilians arrested arbitrarily during the Kawempe events.
3. Strict adherence to constitutional policing standards that respect human dignity and protect the rights of all Ugandans, irrespective of political affiliation.
The statement, signed by Asiimwe Anthony, Vice President of the Uganda Law Society, concluded: “If the state permits its law‑enforcement agencies to unleash living creatures as instruments of political coercion, and to arrest innocent bystanders, what does it say about the rule of law in our country? Such intimidation tactics are unacceptable in a democratic state.”
ULS affirmed its readiness to defend freedom of association and peaceful assembly and reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the rule of law and protecting citizens’ rights.
