Uganda defies Biden, appoints US-blacklisted officer to top police job

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has defied Joe Biden's administration by appointing a former military intelligence chief, who is blacklisted by the United States over alleged rights violations, to the top command of the country's police force.

Major General Abel Kandiho was recalled late on Tuesday from his posting as security envoy in South Sudan barely two weeks after being dropped as spymaster.

Kandiho has "been appointed to the position of the Joint Staff of the Uganda Police Force", Uganda's military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Kakurungu said in a statement.

Until January, Kandiho was the commander of Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence and has faced accusations of abuses including beatings, sexual assault and electrocution.

The US Treasury slapped Kandiho with sanctions last December under the pretext of human rights violations allegedly committed under his watch.