The President of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has raised alarm over what he described as an escalating crackdown on opposition leaders, with several of his senior officials either in detention or missing.
Taking to his X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday, Kyagulanyi painted a grim picture of the situation.
“I am not free. My home is still under siege, and the criminal regime is trying to hunt me down. And yet, three out of my four Deputy Presidents are also in detention,” he wrote.
Kyagulanyi said the Deputy President for Northern Uganda, Lina Zedriga Waru, remains unaccounted for after being abducted from her home on January 15.
The Deputy President for Western Uganda, Jolly Jacklyn Tukamushaba, was also reportedly abducted in Rukiga District a day earlier.
Additionally, the Deputy President for the Central Region, Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, was arrested on Thursday and is currently held at Kira Division Police.
Despite the developments, Kyagulanyi called upon his supporters to remain steadfast.
“As the persecution intensifies, may we remain rooted in hope and faith, that our struggle – the Ugandan struggle – will end in victory,” he wrote.
Police confirmed Kivumbi’s arrest, linking it to alleged acts of political violence during the January 15, 2026 general election in Butambala District, which reportedly left at least ten people dead.
“He is currently in police custody and will be arraigned before court in due course,” the statement, signed by Katonga Region police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe, read.
According to Tumushabe, the arrest relates to “recent incidents of political violence in Butambala.”
The move follows comments by President Yoweri Museveni, who in his January 18 victory speech at Rwakitura accused sections of the opposition of orchestrating violent attacks on polling stations after electoral defeats. He cited Butambala District as an example, alleging that armed groups attempted to disrupt voting following Kivumbi’s defeat to independent candidate Eriasa Mukiibi.
Museveni also claimed that intelligence indicated similar attacks were planned in other parts of the country, but the situation was defused after some opposition members reported the plans to him on January 13.
The arrest of Muwanga Kivumbi has drawn criticism from NUP, opposition leaders, and human rights activists. NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya condemned the move, describing it as further evidence of the erosion of the rule of law.
“With the arrest of Muwanga Kivumbi, this brings to three the number of the National Unity Platform Deputy Presidents currently in detention. A crazy season,” Rubongoya wrote.
