Speaking on The Big Talk with Canary Mugume, the Defence and Military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Felix Kulayigye said the detentions were a direct response to what authorities described as an illegal military-style parade at NUP headquarters in Makerere-Kavule earlier this year.
“Can I remind you that it was stated that whoever participated in that illegal parade at the NUP Headquarters in Makerere Kavule, will be brought to court?" he said
"That is why those individuals have been picked. There are no abductions that are done by the State. The State arrests, it doesn’t abduct. No one is going to be arrested because they belong to a political party. We have had different political actors over time since 1986, and not one was ever arrested because they are from the Opposition.”
The wave of arrests, however, has drawn sharp criticism from NUP, which says it mirrors the pattern of intimidation and disappearances experienced during the 2021 elections.
On Tuesday, Kampala Woman Lord Councillor aspirant Sauda Madada was picked up from Busia reportedly while attempting to cross into exile in Kenya.
Hours earlier, Ali Buken, aka Nubian Li - a close confidante of NUP principal Robert Kyagulanyi - was escorted into custody shortly after his nomination as Nakawa Division Mayor.
On Monday, NUP deputy spokesperson Alex Mufumbiro was "violently abducted" outside Kawempe Magistratr's Court, the Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi said.
Mufumbira was at the court to witness the proceedings brought against nearly a dozen other NUP loyalists including Kyagulanyi's bodyguards Eddy Mutwe and Achileo Kivumbi.
Party mobiliser Habib Buwembo, who was released after hours in detention in Mityana while unveiling a portrait of party president Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, said authorities were more concerned about his discussion of a “protest vote” than the poster itself.
“This proves that opposition figures close to Kyagulanyi—his mobilisers, guards, and allies—are being deliberately targeted,” Buwembo said.
NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya echoed Buwembo’s concerns, saying the detentions were part of a deliberate strategy to weaken the party’s election machinery.
“This is a clear pattern. They are just trying to cut our speed and make sure NUP cannot operate,” he said, recalling the 2021 elections when thousands of NUP supporters were abducted, with eighteen still missing.
Rubongoya challenged the government’s claims that the arrests relate to military-style parades, asking rhetorically whether any of the previously disappeared members had participated in such activities.
In connection to the February incident at NUP headquarters, five members—Calvin Tasi alias Bobi Giant, Edwin Serunkuuma alias Eddie King Kabenja, Sharif Lukenge, Yasin Nyanzi, and Tonny Kaweesi—were charged and remanded to Luzira Prison, joining Edward Sebuufu alias Eddy Mutwe and Achileo Kivumbi, who were previously remanded on similar charges.
Authorities allege that the suspects participated in unauthorized military drills and conspired to commit a felony, citing Section 45(1)(b) of the Penal Code Act. NUP denies the accusations, describing them as politically motivated.
Analysts argue that the government is relying on colonial-era provisions embedded in Uganda’s Penal Code that prohibit assemblies resembling military formations.
African military historian James Nkuubi described the law as “a hangover from colonial control,” while political observer Imam Eid Kasozi warned that the arrests could severely disrupt NUP’s campaign efforts, forcing the party to devote resources to rescuing detained members rather than organising for the elections.
“It could be that they are trying to weaken NUP,” Kasozi observed, “but the problem is that both NUP and its adversaries have fallen into the trap.”
The alleged parade that triggered the crackdown occurred in February, raising questions about the delay in enforcement.
Kulayigye, however, maintained that the UPDF is committed to law and order and ensuring a stable, secure, and progressive country before, during, and after the elections.
For NUP, the current arrests echo the disappearances and intimidation of 2021, leaving party officials to worry not only about legal proceedings but the survival of their campaign machinery as the 2026 elections approach.