Govt under pressure to halt aid to Uganda

The Government is today expected to come under increased pressure to halt aid to the Ugandan government following the execution of two soldiers in the country earlier this week.

Junior Minister Liz O’Donnell is due to reveal details of Ireland’s overseas aid today, but because Uganda is Ireland’s priority country for aid, the figures could be overshadowed by controversy.

Yesterday, GOAL called on the Government to stop aid to Uganda because of the case of the two soldiers, who were shot by firing squad just hours after being convicted of murdering an Irish priest.

Ms O’Donnell has said she is gravely concerned by the executions and has insisted that the Government attempted to have them halted.

The Irish Embassy in Kampala is still trying to establish the facts surrounding the case amid speculation that the executed soldiers were made scapegoats for the crimes of others.

The official motive for the killing of Fr Declan O’Toole was robbery, but missionaries in Uganda suspect Fr O’Toole may have been killed for speaking out against human rights abuses.