Military chief in Uganda said opposition activists were held in my basement
Uganda's military chief, the son of longtime Yoweri Museveni, said his party said he was holding a missing opposition activist in the basement and threatened violence against him after his party said he had been kidnapped.
The National Unified Platform (NUP) party said Eddie Mutwe disappeared on April 27 after being robbed near armed personnel.
Mutwe is the main bodyguard of Bobi Wine, the main opposition figure in Uganda.
In a social media post late Thursday, Ugandan General Muhoozi Kaiinerugaba said Mutwe was captured as “like a grasshopper.”
“He's in my basement…you're the next!” Kaierugaba wrote on X in response to a Wine article saying Mutwe had been kidnapped.
Kainerugaba, known for his burning social media posts, also hinted at Mutwe's torture, saying he beat him and shaved his head.
“If they continue to infuriate us, we will train them further,” he said of the opposition.
Kainerugaba's comments are amid escalation of the crackdown on Uganda's opposition, as wine will launch a “protest vote” campaign ahead of the January general election.
A spokesperson for the Ugandan government, military and police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters News Agency.
On Friday, Wine is a former singer whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi and has become Museveni's main opponent – said on X that security forces “just raided and blocked our headquarters.”
He also condemned Mutwi's kidnapping, telling AFP “a reminder of how Uganda's law and order collapsed”.
The Ugandan government faces international condemnation for the kidnapping of opposition figures, including veteran leader Kizza Besigye, who was caught in Kenya last year and returned forcibly to face treason.
Museveni, who has ruled since 1986 and plans to seek reelection in January, denied allegations of human rights violations.
But the Uganda Bar Association said the kidnapping of Mutwe, the main bodyguard of wine, was not an isolated incident.
Instead, it was “part of a systematic movement to silence and make up for the desire for freedom for young people,” the organization said in a statement.
The Uganda Human Rights Commission, whose mandate is to investigate abuse and monitor the government's human rights records, said it issued a issuing order directing authorities to release Mutwe on Friday.
The move was welcomed by David Lewis Rubongoya, Secretary General of the National Unified Platform Party.
