Former Kampala Mayor and People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) president Erias Lukwago was expected to appear before a Kampala court on Wednesday, more than 48 hours after armed operatives seized him from his Wakaliga residence and held him at an undisclosed location that Uganda’s military chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba repeatedly referred to as his “basement”.
The veteran opposition politician and lawyer was arrested on Monday in an operation that drew condemnation from opposition leaders, lawyers and rights activists, with questions lingering over the circumstances of his detention and the case he could face.
Fresh details obtained by Monitor indicate that authorities have linked Lukwago, one of the defence lawyers for detained four-time President Museveni challenger Dr Kizza Besigye, to the same case in which the opposition leader is facing prosecution and has remained in detention for more than 500 days.
Speaking exclusively to Monitor early Wednesday, police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke confirmed that Lukwago is in custody at Kiira Division Police in Wakiso District, near Uganda’s capital.
Police told waiting friends and relatives that only his lawyer Medard Lubega Sseggona would be allowed to access him for now, until 1pm when new guidance would be issued by the authorities. His wife, Zawedde Lubwama Lukwago, was among those who had been denied access by press time at 11:30am.
Rusoke, speaking via phone, earlier revealed to Monitor that police were due to prefer charges against him and submit the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for review and sanction before court proceedings begin.
Rusoke confirmed that the charges being considered are “treason and misprision of treason.”
The development came after a dramatic operation on Monday morning in which security operatives reportedly entered Lukwago’s bedroom in Wakaliga and took him away.
After a barrage of social media posts about Lukwago’s detention, Gen Muhoozi continued commenting on the matter on Tuesday night, appearing to contradict his earlier suggestions that the opposition politician could be released.
At about 10:06pm, Gen Muhoozi posted: “Lukwago will be in prison for a minimum of 10 years!”
The post came shortly after he had indicated that Lukwago’s release was under consideration following what he described as appeals from his wife, Charlotte Kainerugaba.
“Nothing has made me release Lukwago. No pressure from anywhere. I wanted to keep him in my basement forever! It is just Jesus Christ, the Bachwezi and Charlotte,” the 52-year-old military commander wrote on X.
‘I will HANG Kizza Besigye’
Gen Muhoozi, in a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, made a fresh and strongly worded statement targeting Dr Besigye. He claimed that he would ‘hang’ Besigye if given the opportunity, alleging that Besigye once sought to kill his father and would not escape what he described as ‘punishment he richly deserves.’
Besigye, a longtime opponent of President Museveni, is facing treason-related charges.
Lukwago is part of his legal defence team and also represents him in a separate case against Gen Muhoozi arising from social media posts that allegedly threatened the four-time presidential candidate’s life.