Uganda lawmakers petition ICC to investigate Kasese 'genocide'

Opposition lawmakers in Uganda have petitioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the killing of 62 people in the western town of Kasese, which they say constituted possible war crimes.

Police clashed with the guards of local King Charles Wesley Mumbere, who has been accused of inciting violence after militiamen reportedly attacked a police post.

William Nzoghu, an MP from the area and one of six members of parliament who sent the petition, said the number of people killed was more than 200 and said police and the army had “jointly committed a genocide and crimes against humanity”.

Uganda’s government accuses Mumbere, who is facing murder charges following the clashes, of planning to lead a secession in the Rwenzori region.

The area, which has been beset by unrest in recent years, often votes for the opposition in general elections.

Rights group Amnesty International said that during the clashes several people appeared to have been executed. It described the killings as extrajudicial.