On December 12, 2020, Justin Juuko was arrested by unknown people in Kyazanga, Masaka. He was blindfolded and driven to a place he did not know. After 12 days in detention and due to pressure from his party, FDC, he was released without charge.
Shortly, after his release, the former “Ugandan Destroyer” as he was famously known during his peak years, revealed that he was accused of being in unlawful possession of weapons.
“Juuko was being charged for having a gun. I was laughing in detention because I have never held a gun. How can you not tell me that I am training kids to go burn the streets when I don’t even have a gym here?” Juuko told NBS TV.
Shortly after his arrest, Juuko’s colleague, former boxer Isaac Ssenyange was brutally murdered in cold blood to spark off speculation that the two incidents were linked.
Juuko doubted the link between the two incidents but warned fellow boxers to be careful in this period.
“Okay we’re both boxers and all, but then everybody is being abducted for different reasons. Boxers have to be very careful because they are being targeted,” Juuko said.
Juuko said that Zebra was a man who loved boxing as a sport and the boxing fraternity will greatly miss him.
” I have known Zebra for over 20 years. To say the truth, I don’t know anyone who loved boxing like him,” he said.
Juuko’s ordeal has pushed him into human rights activism. He said that he is now going into full time activism.
Juuko is now an opposition politician with the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) but he will always be known for his achievements in boxing.
Juuko won a gold medal in the Light Flyweight category in 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand among other achievements.
Additional reporting by Jonah Kirabo.
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