Since the government announced first a partial and subsequently a total lockdown to enforce the sets of measures under the Public Health Act of 1935, security personnel have used excessive force to commit gross human rights violations.

Mr Jacob Mumbya, a lawyer, said the violations registered during the Covid-19 lockdown were exacerbated by the wide knowledge gap about human rights awareness on both the side of the public and security personnel.

"The pandemic caught all of us by surprise, and regardless of the conditions, I would want to think the justice institutions have tried," she said, adding that she has met the top management of police and the courts and "agreed on a holistic approach" of administering justice in the usual times, including through, among others, weeding out low priority cases such was breaking curfew time, and creation of lean mobile courts which will be allowed inside prisons to for bail hearings or plea bargain in the bid to decongest prisons.

In his last televised address on Covid-19 on June 1, President Museveni said he had consulted with both the Attorney General, Mr William Byaruhanga, and Justice Abodo about releasing more than 4,000 people in prison in relation to violating the measures put in place.

The police spokesperson, Mr Fred Enanga, during the several briefings of security agencies on the lockdown has admitted that police have recorded a number of cases of rights violations against its officers, although it remains unclear how many officers are being prosecuted.