With less than a year before Ugandans heading to the polls, the National Unity Platform, or NUP, is sounding the alarm. The opposition party claims that since the 2021 election, security forces have abducted over 2,000 activists — a figure the government strongly denies, accusing the opposition of staging incidents for political effect.
At the center of the storm is President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986 and is seeking to extend his grip on power in the 2026 general election. The last election, in 2021, was marred by violence and allegations of fraud — events Museveni blamed on what he called “indiscipline and laziness” within the security forces.
Last Friday, tensions escalated when opposition leader Bobi Wine, also known by his birth name Robert Kyagulanyi, announced that Ugandan soldiers had raided his party’s headquarters in Kampala. The NUP was preparing to launch a nationwide campaign encouraging citizens to vote for the ruling government.
Adding fuel to the fire, Wine’s bodyguard, Edward Sebuufu — widely known as Mutwe — was reportedly abducted by men in military uniforms tied to Uganda’s elite Special Forces Command. Initially, police denied involvement, but Uganda’s military chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba — who is also President Museveni’s son — later confirmed that Sebuufu was in military custody.
In provocative posts on social media, Kainerugaba taunted the opposition, posting a shirtless photo of Sebuufu and warning Wine, “You are next.” Wine, speaking to international media, described the abduction and public humiliation as proof of the government’s growing impunity. “It’s a reminder to the world of how law and order have broken down in Uganda,” he said.
Human rights groups and opposition leaders have long accused the Museveni administration of using military courts and harsh tactics to silence critics — charges the government dismisses as politically motivated.
Veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye has been jailed for nearly five months on treason charges, which his lawyers argue are trumped-up. Bobi Wine himself has faced repeated arrests, most recently in 2023 and 2024, after running for president. The NUP reports that of the thousands allegedly abducted since 2021, at least 18 activists remain missing.
But the ruling National Resistance Movement, or NRM, paints a different picture. Senior party member Enoch Barata claims the NUP provokes violence and chaos, forcing police to intervene.
Barata has gone so far as to accuse the opposition of orchestrating so-called “self-kidnappings” to win sympathy. “At some point, we must separate political rights from criminal acts,” he said.
Uganda’s political calendar is heating up. On May 6, the NRM will hold internal elections to select more than two million officials, paving the way for candidate nominations. Meanwhile, the country’s Youth Council elections are set for June 12, part of the roadmap toward the 2025–2026 general elections outlined by Uganda’s Electoral Commission.
International observers, including the US-based Holocaust Memorial Museum, have issued stark warnings, citing the risk of “mass atrocities” around the upcoming vote.
We will keep watching developments in Uganda as the election approaches and opposition voices grow louder against what they call an increasingly repressive regime.
Reporting by Ehud Jones.
