With less than a year until Uganda's presidential election, the political climate is increasingly tense. The main opposition party NUP has condemned the brutal crackdown on activists, saying 2,000 kidnappings have taken place since the last elections in 2021. But the government accuses the opposition of staging the abductions for political gain.
Uganda is set to hold a general election in January, with President Yoweri Museveni looking to extend his 40-year rule.
The last election in 2021 was marred by widespread reports of irregularities and severe violence from the security forces, which Museveni blamed on "indiscipline" and "laziness".
The US-based Holocaust Memorial Museum recently warned of possible "mass atrocities" around the 2026 election.
Last Friday, Bobi Wine, leader of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) said the army had raided his party's headquarters in the capital Kampala.
The opposition was planning to use the HQ to launch a campaign to urge Ugandans to vote against the government in the general election and demonstrate to protect their democratic rights.
Wine said his bodgyguard Edward Sebuufu (also referred to as Mutwe) had been "violently abducted" by armed men wearing uniforms associated with the Special Forces Command, an elite unit of Uganda's army.
'Rogue regime'
The NUP's secretary-general David Lewis Rubongoya told RFI that the police at first denied any responsibility for Sebuufu's abduction.
However, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda's military chief and the son of the President confirmed later on Friday that Sebuufu was indeed in his custody.
In a series of posts on social media late on Thursday, Kainerugaba said Sebuufu had been captured "like a grasshopper", next to a photo of the bodyguard, shirtless with a shaved head.
"He is in my basement... You are next," Kainerugaba, known for his notorious posts on X, warned Wine.
News agencies were not immediately able to independently verify the photograph, but the NUP party later re-used it on their X handle in a post seeking support for Sebuufu.
Wine told French news agency AFP it was "a reminder to the world as to how law and order has broken down in Uganda".
"For Muhoozi to confirm the abduction and illegal detention of Eddie Mutwe and sharing his photos half naked signals to the level of impunity the rogue regime has reached," he added.
Military courts
NGOs and opposition politicians have long accused the Museveni government of using the military courts to prosecute opposition leaders and supporters on politically motivated charges – accusations the government denies.
Museveni, 80, has been president of the Republic of Uganda since 1986. Under his regime, opponents have suffered repression for decades, including the former presidential candidates Kizza Besigye, and Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi.
Wine was arrested several times after campaigning for the presidency, first in 2021 then in 2023 and 2024.
Besigye, a veteran political rival of Museveni's, has been in detention for nearly five months on treason charges – which his lawyers say are politically motivated.
The opposition has denounced a series of kidnappings in the country, more than 2,000 activists since 2021 – 18 of whom remain unaccounted for, according to the NUP.
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Self-kidnappings?
But the Ugandan authorities take a different view, citing NUP gatherings as "illegal" as they pose a threat to public safety.
Enoch Barata, a senior member of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) says the government has to support the police intervention.
For him, "the NUP has become accustomed to provoking violence, blocking roads, and sowing chaos among the population," he told RFI. "At some point, a distinction must be made between civil and political rights and pure criminality."
The government has accused the NUP of exploiting the situation to portray itself as the victim.
"Once again, we see the NUP denouncing kidnappings, only to later find out that they were self-kidnappings for political gain," Barata said. "This case must be resolved."
NUP's Rubongoya told RFI that his party's activities "are always peaceful until the police arrive and start shooting to block our political actions".
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The ruling NRM is holding its internal elections this spring. More than two million officials are to be elected on 6 May, ahead of the candidate selection process for next year's general election.
The country is also due to hold Youth Council elections across the country on 12 June, part of the broader roadmap for the 2025–2026 general elections as outlined by the Electoral Commission of Uganda.
These are designed to elect representatives at various administrative levels, providing young Ugandans with a platform to participate in governance.
Reporting by RFI's Christina Okello with Reuters
