Released NUP officials narrate inhumane treatment at CMI torture chambers

Kampala, (UG):- The National Unity Platform (NUP) President, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, has revealed that five of the abducted party officials who had been missing for nearly two weeks, were finally released from the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) facility in Mbuya after undergoing inhumane treatment at the hands of rogue officers.

While addressing the media at the party’s Monday press briefing at Makerere Kavule, Kyagulanyi highlighted that the comrades upon their release from CMI torture chambers in Mbuya came straight to office and narrated their ordeal to the party leadership.

“One of these comrades was able to smuggle out the notorious blindfold which these criminals put on people’s heads to ensure they don’t see where they’re being taken. Upon abduction, they blindfold their victims, force them to make several 360-degree turns which causes them dizziness and to lose their bearings so that they don’t know which direction they’re being taken to,” Bobi Wine explained.

This method, he said, is used by the abductors to ensure that the victim does not identify the persons subjecting them to torture. “Very glad their criminality is being exposed every day. There will be a time to account for each crime committed against our people,” Bobi stated.

The development at the Kavule-based opposition party comes in the wake of heightened abductions in the country that have targeted mainly, top NUP officials including Bobi Wine’s brother Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu who was arrested by heavily armed men on Monday, 17th February but released and dumped four days later at his home.

The next day, Tuesday, February 18, 2025, four members of the party’s electoral commission—Mercy Walukamba, Rovans Alex Lwanyaga, Rahma Juma, and Eddie Kayabura were reportedly taken at gunpoint in Lungala, Mpigi District, while returning from a burial in Rakai District.

Ms Walukamba, who was two days after released alongside Rahma Juma recounted that during her detention, interrogators questioned her about her association with NUP, the party’s plans for the Kawempe North by-election, and their strategies for the upcoming 2026 general elections. “They told us that they are ready to crash NUP within one month,” she stated.

Similarly, Ms Juma also detailed intense interrogations focusing on her dual roles within the party and the activities of NUP’s mobilizers, commonly referred to as “foot soldiers.” “They asked me, ‘You are going to demonstrate, to burn property—where do you train with the foot soldiers? Do you also go to the leadership school in Kamwokya?'” she recounted.

These abductions also coincide with recent security operations targeting NUP premises where operatives conducted parallel searches at the NUP’s headquarters in Kavule and their leadership school in Kamwokya, recovering several exhibits which police said will be used as evidence in court.

Kyagulanyi, a former presidential contender and runner-up who is seen as a top critic of the Museveni government condemned the raids, alleging that security operatives stole computers, valuable documents, money, and branded materials.

Mr Wine further claimed that some of the stolen electronic devices were traced to the Police Headquarters at Naguru and the CMI headquarters at Mbuya, according to GPS data. “There are also attempts to hack into some of these devices. Thankfully, our IT teams are doing their best to protect our data,” he noted.

The NUP leadership has consistently accused the government of employing intimidation tactics to suppress opposition activities, especially as the 2026 elections get nearer.