On September 14, 2025, tension gripped Kinawataka in Mbuya when two unmarked minibuses, infamously known as “drones,” pulled up outside the residence of Ms. Doreen Kaija.
Within minutes, the coordinator and principal of the National Unity Platform (NUP) School of Leadership was in the custody of armed plainclothes operatives.
For two days, her whereabouts remained unknown.
On September 16, Kaija resurfaced not at her school or political meetings but in the dock of Kawempe Chief Magistrate’s Court.
She faced charges of unlawful drilling, conspiracy to commit a felony, and running a private school that, since 2020, has not been classified or registered under the law.
Through the bars of a court holding cell, Kaija’s defiance was evident.
“We don’t face the law, we are facing the gun,” she told journalists before being remanded to Luzira Prison until September 29, 2025.
Witnesses said Kaija resisted the operatives for nearly 20 minutes before Police from Kinawataka intervened, persuading her to open the door.
“They forced her into the drone and drove off with the police officers. That was the last we saw of her,” one resident recalled.
NUP leaders condemned the arrest, calling it an abduction.
Kaija’s case adds her name to a growing list of Opposition supporters facing detention ahead of the 2026 General Election.
Among those charged alongside her are close Kyagulanyi associates: bodyguards Edward Ssebufu (alias Eddie Mutwe), Calvin Tasi (alias Bobi Giant), Edwin Serunkuuma (alias Eddie King Kabejja), Sharif Lukenge, and Yasin Nyanzi.
Others include Tonny Kaweesi, Saudah Madaada, and deputy spokesperson Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro.
To the ruling establishment, these prosecutions reflect enforcement of law and order. To the Opposition, they are part of a wider strategy of intimidation meant to weaken their structures.
With President Museveni, now 81, seeking another term after nearly four decades in power, political tensions are running high.
NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, condemned Kaija’s arrest.
“Imagine all these vehicles, armed men some in civilian clothes coming to pick up a harmless young woman whose only weapon is her voice and her conviction that Uganda deserves better,” he said.
“Museveni and his brutal son, on whose orders these cowards operate, will most definitely get their due reward. Our duty is to keep pushing and never give up! Even journalists who tried to cover the incident were grabbed and taken away because these criminals do not want to be on camera. I appreciate the citizens who withstand intimidation and record these incidents,” he added.
The charges against Kaija strike at the very heart of the NUP project: the party’s School of Leadership in Makerere Kavule.
Designed to groom young political actors in governance, mobilization, and civic engagement, the school has become central to building party capacity.
NUP officials argue that the state’s move to target the school is politically motivated.
Party lawyer George Musisi cited constitutional guarantees of association and political education, insisting the school falls under the Political Parties and Organisations Act of 2005.
According to him, the charges are a tactic to keep Opposition supporters in custody.
“That is why we see people accused of unlawful drilling even when they were not present, or kept under investigation months after arrest,” he argued.
Beyond the legal battles, Kaija’s detention carries symbolic weight. To her supporters, she represents resilience in the face of repression. To the state, she is an accused lawbreaker.
NUP secretary general David Lewis Rubongoya dismissed the charges against Kaija and others as politically motivated.
“We started the school in our department of Training and Patriotism Development. Which political party doesn’t have training? Our uniqueness is that as NUP we are more organized than other parties. We even allocated a full headquarters to this department,” Rubongoya said.
He added that the charge of unlawful drilling does not apply to any party activity.
“What’s more troubling is how they apply it to every NUP leader or supporter who is abducted or arrested. For instance, Waiswa, Saudah, and now Doreen never stepped at Kavule on February 12, yet the regime brought that charge against them,” he said.
“More laughable? Charging us with running an unregistered school. The criminal NRM establishment runs what they call ‘ideology clinics’ for their trainings. Maybe they too should be charged with running illegal clinics,” he added.
He maintained the NUP School of Leadership is a department of a registered political party, feared by the regime because it grooms present and future leaders.
Musisi also argued the prosecutions are not legitimate attempts to address crime but a wider strategy to weaken the Opposition.
“The intention is purely political. This school is not a school in the sense of the Education Act. It is simply a political education department of a duly registered party, allowed to conduct sensitization and instill its ideology,” Musisi said.
He explained that the NUP School does not operate as a conventional academic institution, pointing out that it has no admission requirements, no fees, and no structured academic year.
“It is a political education department. To suggest otherwise is misleading,” he added.
Musisi further criticized the charges of unlawful drilling and conspiracy to commit a felony, saying they are designed to keep Opposition supporters locked up.
“The intention is to find any charge that brings people under lawful custody. That’s why we see people accused of unlawful drilling when they weren’t even present, or kept under investigation months after arrest,” he said.
“There is no primary liability in these cases. The intention is political targeting and persecution, purely so,” he added.
Legal analyst Robert Kagoro, however, argued that if the School of Leadership was functioning as a formal institution, responsibility should lie with party leadership, not junior staff.
“You cannot operate a school without a license. That is normal. If the NUP school was issuing certificates, then the leadership had an obligation to obtain authorization from the relevant authorities,” Kagoro said.
He questioned why prosecutors targeted party workers instead of leadership.
“If the party runs the school, you go after its leaders. Why go for the peripherals? If the government is serious, it should hold those who run it accountable, not innocent young boys and girls struggling to earn a living,” he added.
Kagoro admitted the arrests carry political undertones, noting the matter escalated after the school staged a public parade presided over by Kyagulanyi.
“It is political. Because had it not been for that parade, we would not be having these problems,” he said.
Still, he emphasized the law must be followed.
“It is unlawful to operate a school without a license. It is now upon NUP to prove that this was simply a party organ for political education, not a conventional school requiring registration,” he said.
Kaija and nine other NUP members remain on remand at Luzira Prison on charges ranging from unlawful drilling to operating an unregistered school. They return to court on September 29, 2025.
The NUP School of Leadership Institute was set up in June 2024 to teach political and socio-economic disciplines to party members and other Ugandans.
Located at the NUP headquarters in Kampala, the institute was touted as a breeding ground for future leaders able to withstand the temptations of the ruling regime.
“This is not just a school, it is a testament of hope and a place where our present and future leaders will be prepared, shaped, and refined,” Kyagulanyi said at the launch.
“We want to equip leaders with the knowledge and skills to help them through the struggle for change and empower them to transform Uganda after the fall of dictatorship,” he said.
“We need leaders who resist the temptations of power, corruption, and self-entitlement. Students here will be trained to fight corruption, abuse of office, and all malpractices that have plagued Uganda’s politics,” the former presidential contender added.
The disciplines taught at the institute include NUP ideology, Uganda’s political and constitutional history, strategic perspectives on nation-building, and modern economics.
Others are human rights, communication skills, political communication, and the principles and practice of institutional leadership.