National Unity Platform (NUP) has once again sounded the alarm over the continued abduction of its supporters by unidentified security operatives, a trend that the party says has taken a chilling turn in recent months.
Speaking with a heavy voice and visible frustration during a press conference held Thursday at the NUP headquarters in Makerere Kavule, the party’s Secretary General, David Lewis Rubongoya condemned what he described as a sustained campaign of terror targeting opposition voices.
“We are not terrorists. We are not at war with the government. We are simply Ugandans who believe in change. Then why are our people being picked off the streets and disappearing without a trace?” Rubongoya demanded.
Rubongoya revealed that over three NUP supporters were abducted in May, allegedly by plain-clothed security personnel traveling in drone vans. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
“Families are mourning sons they haven’t buried; mothers are crying for answers that never come. This cannot be the face of a democratic nation,” he added.
The party has compiled names and case files of the missing individuals, including: Isaac Muwonge, reportedly picked up from Nansana on May 14, Gloria Nabirye, a youth coordinator abducted outside her home in Mukono and Joseph Kalema, last seen at a party mobilization meeting in Kireka.
Makerere Kavule party office has transformed into more than just a political headquarters. It’s become a makeshift human rights command center, with walls plastered with missing persons’ posters and staff constantly fielding desperate calls from families.
Party president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu aka Bobi Wine, although not present at the briefing, has consistently used his social media platforms to document such cases and pressure international organizations to take notice.
Rubongoya insists these arrests are not random or coincidental but rather part of a calculated attempt to paralyse the NUP’s grassroots mobilization ahead of the 2026 general elections.
“Every time we schedule a district tour, our coordinators get picked up. Whenever we announce a youth mobilization event, someone disappears. How is this not political suppression?” Rubongoya questioned.
Despite repeated calls for accountability, both the Uganda Police Force and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) have remained largely silent or have distanced themselves from these alleged operations. In previous statements, security spokespersons claimed that all legal arrests are accounted for.
Human rights groups, including Chapter Four Uganda and the Uganda Human Rights Defenders Association (UHRDA), have condemned the abductions, calling them a violation of constitutional freedoms, especially freedom of association and political expression.
“These actions, disappearances without charge or access to legal counsel fit the textbook definition of enforced disappearances under international law,” said Sarah Muwanga, a legal researcher with UHRDA.
Rubongoya vowed that NUP will continue to document all human rights violations, pursue legal redress, and engage international human rights watchdogs to put pressure on the Ugandan government.
“We will not sit back and normalize abduction. We will not be silenced by fear. If speaking the truth is a crime in Uganda, then we are proud criminals,” Rubongoya concluded.
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