By Elias Biryabarema
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Human rights activists and opposition figures on Thursday accused the Ugandan government of deploying a militia to intimidate protesters and disperse demonstrations ahead of next year's presidential election.
The East African nation has one of the fastest-growing economies in the region and has seen heightened international investor interest since the discovery of commercial hydrocarbon deposits in the country's west in 2006.
Uganda's government has denied links with the militia but tensions are mounting ahead of the election, due early next year, as President Yoweri Museveni's government faces accusations it has become increasingly intolerant of dissent.
Activists say a mysterious militia, dubbed the Kiboko Squad, was first deployed by authorities in 2007 but has returned as the election approaches. Its members were accused of flogging people at a rally against the Electoral Commission on June 9.
"(The militia signals) the regime's growing sense of impunity," said Livingstone Ssewanyana, director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, a Ugandan group.
