Amnesty International has listed Uganda among notorious countries dealing in illicit arms.

The Amnesty International Ugandan president, Richard Omongole, yesterday said at a follow-up meeting on the UN Conference on small arms at the Grand Imperial Hotel that Uganda is also among countries cited for misuse of small arms.

“In Amnesty, we look at situations used by governments where they sometimes use illicit arms to extort information from suspects. There is equipment used by the army and Police for torture. We have done comprehensive research on this,” Omongole said.

He said Amnesty was able to identify, through covert research, places in Kampala, where one walks in, and one is asked whether one wants coffee or a gun.

He identified the former Lebanese Restaurant, renamed Al-Tarboush Restaurant, after it was taken over, allegedly by First Lady Mrs. Janet Museveni.

“We met the buyers and sellers through secret arrangements. That’s why we in Amnesty are now changing our approach from the sellers to the buyers. Maybe the UPDF(uganda army), we shall soon be coming to you to expose you to the international community,” Omongole said. He said Amnesty had already identified a number of such buyers in the country, and the personnel who sell the arms.