An official investigation is under way in Masaka after a vehicle belonging to a local ruling-party mobilizer was set ablaze in the early hours of Tuesday, deepening political tensions within the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in central Uganda.
Khamadi Matovu , a bodaboda rider and aspiring councillor in Butego Ward, said he was ‘shocked’ to find his Toyota Carina, registration number UAD 438F, reduced to ashes by the roadside.
He told journalists the car had been crucial in his efforts to rally support for party leader and incumbent President Museveni in the area.
Matovu said the vehicle had broken down during a mobilization activity and he left it parked, planning for a mechanic to collect it the following morning.
He was alerted in the night by a resident who knocked on his door to report the blaze.
‘By the time I reached the scene, it was gone,’ he said, adding that the car had long been covered with campaign posters of several NRM candidates.
He appealed to senior NRM officials to intervene, saying the incident had ‘crippled’ his activities and that he needed justice – and possibly replacement of the vehicle – to continue his work.
NRM youth chairperson in Kijjabwemi, Muswangali Shakib, condemned the incident and urged security agencies to ‘urgently investigate the perpetrators,’ calling the arson a direct attack on the ruling party in Masaka.
But the incident has also exposed sharp internal disagreements within the local NRM structures. A separate group of party members, led by Abdallah Ssenabulya, the bodaboda chairman for Greater Masaka, dismissed Matovu’s account.
They alleged he had been planning to burn the car himself in hopes of receiving a replacement from senior party officials.
Ssenabulya claimed Matovu previously attempted to set the vehicle alight near Shell Buddu, where he often parked it, but was stopped by colleagues who warned that a fire outbreak at a fuel station could cause an explosion. They now believe he may have shifted the act elsewhere.
Masaka Regional Police spokesperson Twaha Kasirye confirmed that an investigation had begun but did not comment on the competing narratives within the NRM. Police have not announced any arrests or leads.
The incident comes as political organising intensifies across Uganda ahead of the January 15, 2026 General Election, with ruling-party mobilisers and opposition activists reporting rising pressure, scrutiny and internal disputes.