The National Unity Platform (NUP) Chief Mobilizer, Fred Nyanzi, who was allegedly abducted at the start of this week, has spoken out about the harrowing experience he endured while in captivity.
Nyanzi says the five days he spent in detention were filled with intense suffering, including severe beatings on his feet, back, and chest, which, according to doctors, caused fluid buildup in his lungs.
Upon arriving at Nyanzi’s home, we found friends, relatives, and NUP supporters gathering to check on his condition.
It was difficult to tell his exact condition at first because he maintained a smile while greeting his visitors. However, when he attempted to walk, he was in excruciating pain, indicating that he had been tortured.
Speaking briefly, Nyanzi said that he would never forget the events of February 17, the day he was abducted by armed men dressed in civilian clothes.
Nyanzi confirmed that his abductors first took him to Garden City in Kampala, where they blindfolded him.
From that moment, he could only rely on his sense of movement in the vehicle, which lasted for about 45 minutes before he was taken to an unknown location, where his torture began.
On the second day of captivity, he says he was transferred to another location that resembled an underground dungeon.
There, he found people dressed in military uniforms, which confirmed to him that he was being held by security operatives.
“The room had a toilet, I survived on posho, beans, porridge, and tap water," he said.
Nyanzi adds that he was subjected to endless interrogation about his family, NUP’s internal affairs, and the party’s election strategies.
During the five days he was missing, Nyanzi says his mind constantly drifted to thoughts of his family, missing NUP members, and those still imprisoned on politically motivated charges.
What surprised him most, however, was that his captors suddenly released him, driving him to a location near his home and dumping him by the roadside without pressing any charges against him.
Nyanzi questions why, at his age, he was subjected to such brutal beatings when he is merely a political activist whose phone could have been used to verify any allegations against him.