The National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, has called for the fair and lawful treatment of Twine Charles, a police officer who has been missing since last Wednesday, amid growing concern that he may have been abducted by operatives from the Special Forces Command (SFC).
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday morning, Kyagulanyi said reports suggest Twine was picked up from Police Headquarters in Kampala and taken to an unknown location by SFC personnel.
“Although he often justified repression and spoke with great insensitivity about the oppression and suffering of the people of Uganda, I implore us to demand for the fair treatment of Twine Charles,” Kyagulanyi wrote. “Twine, like every Ugandan, deserves to be treated in accordance with the law, even if he is suspected to have committed any offence.”
Kyagulanyi, also known by his stage name Bobi Wine, emphasized that Twine’s family deserves to know his whereabouts and to have reasonable access to him.
“We cannot continue to live in such a lawless country,” he added.
His remarks come amid rising fears over enforced disappearances and the continued role of military agencies in civilian affairs.
Human rights organisations have previously raised alarms over the use of abductions and secret detentions by security forces to stifle dissent and suppress perceived threats within the system.
The Uganda Police Force has yet to issue an official statement on Twine’s whereabouts or whether an investigation is underway.
In a stern warning about the dangers of unchecked state power, Kyagulanyi stated: “Like we have repeatedly said, no one is safe in a sinking boat. Assuredly, everyone will taste the effects of military rule, one way or another, until all of us work collectively to put an end to this criminality.”
The allegations, if confirmed, could further strain relations between civil society, opposition leaders, and Uganda’s security agencies, already under scrutiny for human rights abuses. Several commentators have called on the government to account for Twine’s location and ensure his constitutional rights are upheld.
This is a developing story.