Uganda. Army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba claims kidnapping of opposition lawyer

The head of the Ugandan army Muhoozi Kainerugaba boasted, with a supporting photo, of the kidnapping on Monday of a lawyer and opponent who was suing him. “Muhoozi”, the son of President Yoweri Museveni, 81 years old, 40 of whom have been in power, is known for his incendiary online publications.

Erias Lukwago, lawyer for veteran opposition Kizza Besigye

“I’m proud of all the pain and suffering I’m going throughinflict on CRIMINAL LUKWAGO!”he insisted on X, referring to the former mayor of Kampala, Erias Lukwago, also a lawyer and opponent.

He had earlier announced on X, where more than a million people follow him, to have “catch a drunk” and have it “taken to his basements”. The army chief also published two photos, one of a man with his face covered with a cloth, and another of Erias Lukwago, who is wearing a t-shirt
white, like the man in the first photo, is shown bareheaded.

“Today we witnessed (…) what we heard about under Idi Amin” Dada

According to a relative of the lawyer, interviewed by AFP, “soldiers jumped over the gate (of his house), violently put him
in a van and took him elsewhere. They didn’t say where.”

“Today we witnessed (…) what we heard about under Idi Amin” Dada, the bloodthirsty Ugandan dictator in power from 1971 to 1979, denounced the wife of the deceased, Zawedde Lubwama Lukwago, to the press. Erias Lukwago is the lawyer of opposition veteran Kizza Besigye. He filed a complaint on Friday June 12 against three officers, including the head of the army, and a Ugandan magistrate for the kidnapping of his client in 2024 in Kenya. Mr. Besigye was then secretly transferred to a military prison in Uganda. He has still not been tried and his family accuses the Ugandan state of torturing him.

In the Ugandan judicial tradition, the complaint must be transmitted to the person being prosecuted, or failing that, be published in a newspaper, in order to be investigated. According to Mr. Lukwago’s party, he was going to bring a subpoena to the head of the army.

“He summons me?? But how dare you say these words? Only Mzee (“the old man” in Swahili, Yoweri Museveni’s benevolent nickname) can summon me. This imbecile will learn the lesson”had previously reacted on X Muhoozi Kainerugaba about the lawyer. “The more you slap him, the more he seemsto understand”he posted again.

The army chief had already bragged about the kidnapping of Bobi Wine’s security chief

The army has “absolutely no role to play in the intimidation, threats or arrest” of lawyers, the secretary of the Ugandan bar Babu Ssali recalled during a press conference.

Last year, the army chief had already boasted of the kidnapping of Bobi Wine’s security manager – an unsuccessful candidate in the last two presidential elections, now in exile -, claiming to have used him “like a punching bag”.

“Muhoozi” has repeatedly threatened to kill MM. Wine and Besigye. “Here we are witnessing a level of impunity such that this guy thinks he will not suffer any consequences”, compared to other countries where human rightsare also flouted, “at least the (authors) are hiding” for fear of future reprisals, said Ugandan human rights activist Agather Atuhaire.
Questioned by AFP, the latter also condemned the silence of other countries in the face of abuses in Uganda, due, according to her, to “fear and (to) their own interests”.
“They know that it is he (the president’s son) who comes (to power) andthey do not want to compromise their interests by denouncing him”, she criticized.