Nicholas Opiyo

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Opiyo in 2021

Nicholas Opiyo is a Ugandan human rights lawyer commonly known for campaigning civil rights and political freedoms in Uganda specifically electoral law, the restriction of freedom of assembly, and the clampdown on freedom of speech and freedom of the press.[1] He is also known for representing LGBTQ+ people.[2] He is the current Executive Director and Lead Attorney at Chapter Four Uganda.[3][1][4][5][6] Opiyo received the German Africa Prize in 2017,[1] Voices for Justice Award from Human Rights Watch in 2015 and the European Union Parliament Sakharov Fellows Prize in 2016.[3][5] Opiyo was the 2015 recipient of the Alison Des Forges award for extraordinary activism.[2][7]

Background and education[]

Opiyo aged 37, grew up on the outskirts of Gulu, Northern Uganda.[1] He walked long distances in order to avoid abduction by the LRA.[1] His sister was kidnapped and spent several years with the rebels before escaping.[1]

Career[]

He was the member of the Team of Expert to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Peaceful Assembly and Association until 2017.[3][5] He is a visiting scholar at the Centre for African Studies, Stanford University, CA, USA and the Global Health Program at the University of San Francisco (UCSF), California, USA.[3][5] Opiyo is the Board Chair of Action Aid Uganda,[8] a member of the Human Rights Advisory Board BENETECH, a Silicon Valley human rights and tech company based in Palo Alto in California and African Middle Eastern Leadership Project (AMEL), a Washington, DC-based think and action group.[3][5]

Opiyo has been representing Stella Nyanzi, a Ugandan academic charged with cyber-harassment and offensive communication for her comments about Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, and the recent presidential candidate, Bobi Wine for the recent 2021 Uganda elections in January.[1][9]

He also campaigned against Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2013 and convinced the Uganda's Constitutional Court to declare the law null and void.[1][7]

Controversy[]

Opiyo was detained over money laundering allegations in December 2020.[1][4][2] According to Bobi Wine, he was arrested along with three other lawyers and a member of his party,[1] who were Herbert Dakasi, Anthony Odur and Esomu Obure – and Hamid Tenywa, a human rights officer of Bobi Wine's opposition party, National Unity Platform (NUP).[2][6] He was granted bail on 30 December 2020 by the Buganda Road Court, after serious money laundering and corruption charges were filed against him.[4][10][11] He spent over a week in detention and he was at risk of contracting COVID-19.[4][12] He was again remanded until January 11, 2021.[13]

In September 2021, the uganda prosecutor's office drops the money laundering charges against Nicholas Opiyo.[14]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Nicholas Opiyo: Uganda's rebellious rights lawyer | DW | 24.12.2020". DW.COM. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  2. ^ a b c d "Uganda charges leading lawyer for LGBT rights with money laundering". the Guardian. 2020-12-24. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Nicholas Opiyo | Chapter Four". chapterfouruganda.org. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  4. ^ a b c d AfricaNews (2020-12-31). "Uganda human rights lawyer, Nicholas Opiyo granted bail". Africanews. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Nicholas Opiyo". Namati. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  6. ^ a b "Joint statement on the charges against Nicholas Opiyo". Lawyers for Lawyers (in Dutch). 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  7. ^ a b "Nicholas Opiyo, Uganda". Human Rights Watch. 2015-08-10. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  8. ^ "ActionAid International condemns the arrest of Nicholas Opiyo". ActionAid International. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  9. ^ "Nicholas Opiyo Archives". The Independent Uganda. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  10. ^ Independent, The (2020-12-30). "Human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo granted bail". The Independent Uganda. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  11. ^ "Rights lawyer Opiyo released on bail". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  12. ^ URN. "Lawyer Nicholas Opiyo remanded over Shs 1.2bn cash deposit". The Observer - Uganda. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  13. ^ "Lawyer Nicholas Opiyo remanded again, till January 11". Nile Post. 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  14. ^ "Ouganda: le parquet abandonne les poursuites contre l'activiste Nicholas Opiyo". Radio France International (in French). 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2021-09-15.

External links[]

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