Africa-Press – Uganda. National Unity Platform (NUP) mobiliser Habib Buwembo regained his freedom after hours in detention, following his arrest in Mityana where he was unveiling a portrait of party president Robert Kyagulanyi to be used in the 2026 elections.
“Unfortunately, when I reached police, I got to know they were not interested in the posters,” Buwembo said. “They were more concerned about what we mean by a protest vote.”
Buwembo insists the arrest proves opposition figures close to Kyagulanyi — his mobilizers, guards, and allies — are being deliberately targeted.
NUP Secretary General Lewis Rubongoya echoed the sentiment, saying government is orchestrating a wider scheme to weaken the party’s election machinery.
“This is a clear pattern. They are just trying to cut our speed and make sure NUP cannot operate,” he argued.
Authorities have dismissed NUP’s claims, citing allegations that party members were holding “illegal military-style parades.” Rubongoya rejected the accusations outright, pointing to the 2021 election cycle when, he said, thousands of NUP supporters were abducted without cause.
“In the last election they abducted four thousand of our members. Eighteen are still missing. Did Ddamulira or Kibalama ever participate in a parade?” he asked rhetorically.
African military historian James Nkuubi said government’s legal basis lies in colonial-era laws still embedded in Uganda’s Penal Code.
“We have seen a retreat into history,” he explained. “The law prohibits movements or assemblies seen as military in nature, a hangover from colonial control.”
Political observer Imam Eid Kasozi called the wave of arrests part of a repeated cycle of harassment.
Both analysts warned that the strategy could severely disrupt NUP’s election preparations, as more energy may go into rescuing detained members rather than organizing campaigns.
“It could be that they are trying to weaken NUP,” Kasozi observed, “but the problem is that both NUP and its adversaries have fallen into the trap.”
The alleged parade that triggered the crackdown took place in February this year. Which leaves the central question hanging: why wait until now?
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