The spate of abductions Ugandans have witnessed since 2016 has now reached alarming proportions. People are living in fear, especially those supporting the Opposition. While social media has created the illusion of free speech, those speaking out sometimes have to use fake names. They know the chances of facing dire consequences are high. At first, many believed abductions targeted individuals posing a threat to national security. The State could argue, with reason, that it was resorting to extreme measures to protect everyone.
But as the government continues to lose popularity, abduction has become a tool to silence the Opposition. It now seems anyone who dares challenge those wielding real power risks being abducted. Worryingly, security forces have inflicted physical and mental torture on victims, sometimes leading to death. Several cases have been documented. The most recent involved a 22-year-old woman named Irene Nakibuuka. She was reportedly abducted on election day in January, tortured and later released – only to die weeks later. The alleged abduction and torture exacerbated her underlying conditions.
On Monday, it was former Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago’s turn. He is one of the senior lawyers representing Dr Kizza Besigye, who was abducted in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2024 along with his aide, Obeid Lutale, and transferred to Uganda to face treason charges. The case against Dr Besigye now looks highly questionable because nearly every Ugandan capable of independent judgment is asking why the State has failed to conduct a proper trial if, as it claims, it has incontrovertible evidence against him and co-defendants.
Mr Lukwago has worked tremendously hard to ensure Dr Besigye gets justice, but to no avail. There is nothing he has done that contravenes the law. In fact, it is the government that has used questionable means in its handling of the case, including arraigning him before a military court, a move his lawyers successfully challenged in the Supreme Court. Even if Mr Lukwago had committed a crime, the government would be obliged to use lawful means of arrest. Instead, armed men believed to be operatives of the Special Forces Command (SFC) abducted him.
A pertinent question many Ugandans are asking is why a lawyer or any law-abiding citizen should be abducted instead of being arrested. The abductions we have witnessed are intended to humiliate those targeted. Mr Lukwago’s wife told reporters that when she tried to stop the armed men from abducting her husband, her arm was twisted and she was kicked to the floor. Her story is reminiscent of what happened to Barbie [Barbra Kyagulanyi], the wife of Opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine. When security forces stormed their home in January, they smashed doors, climbed into the ceiling, pulled her hair and partially undressed her. The couple have since fled the country and is currently living in the United States.
Individuals ordering these abductions appear to operate above the law. When Mr Lukwago was abducted, the Commander of the Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, posted humiliating photos that he claimed are of Lukwago on his X page. Some have cast doubt on the authenticity of the images, but even if they are fake, the intent appears to have been to humiliate him. The real problem for Mr Lukwago and dozens of Ugandans languishing in illegal detention centres is that they have no effective recourse to justice. In Kitalya, many Opposition supporters, especially those backing the National Unity Platform, have been held without trial, some for years.
This impunity should worry every Ugandan. If a lawyer and prominent Opposition figure can be abducted in broad daylight and held illegally, then ordinary citizens are at a much bigger risk. We claim to be a democracy. But the truth is we are an autocracy with a capital A.