Masaka, Uganda: The Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, has issued a harrowing statement detailing what he described as “barbaric and inhumane” torture inflicted on his longtime bodyguard and aide, Edward Ssebufu, commonly known as Eddie Mutwe, while in military custody.
Speaking on Wednesday, May 7, after visiting Mutwe and three other detained NUP security guards (Achileo Kivumbi, Mugumya Gaddafi, and Wakabi Grace) at Masaka Main Prison, Bobi Wine said Eddie was still alive but in severe physical and psychological pain, following what he called “weeks of systematic torture” during incommunicado detention.
“Eddie Mutwe is alive – that’s the only good news,” Bobi Wine said in a statement. “He was electrocuted, waterboarded, stripped, beaten, and force-fed humiliation at the hands of military operatives.”
Eddie Mutwe, who was arrested on April 27, 2025, in Kiwango Village, Mukono District by armed security operatives, remained incommunicado for eight days before being arraigned in court in Masaka on May 5 and later remanded. His appearance in court followed increasing pressure from human rights advocates and opposition voices over his whereabouts.
In a Wednesday statement, Bobi Wine narrated how Eddie Mutwe was held in a military basement, waterboarded, electrocuted, stripped naked, and forced to kneel at gunpoint to pledge allegiance to President Museveni and his son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
At one point, the NUP leader alleges, Gen. Muhoozi, also the CDF of Uganda’s armed forces, personally participated in the torture and mocked Mutwe for his physical condition while in handcuffs.
“Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Keinerugaba, came on the third day and personally participated in the torture. He challenged Eddie to fight him if he thinks he is strong. A man on handcuffs!” Bobi Wine wondered.
“He was made to wear Museveni’s t-shirt, injected with unknown substances, and denied water—being told to drink dirty blood-stained water on the floor,” the former Presidential candidate and runner-up added. “They cut his beard violently, flogged him daily, and blasted loud music to drown out his cries.”
Bobi Wine further revealed that Eddie Mutwe was interrogated in Runyakore, a language he did not understand, and beaten for every incorrect response. The physical abuse reportedly focused on his legs and feet, causing severe swelling that left him unable to walk unaided.
“They forced him to do press-ups, frog jumps, and took degrading pictures of him. He now struggles to sleep, haunted by the faces of the torturers,” he revealed, demanding that “Eddie Mutwe should be in a hospital, not in prison. His only crime is being loyal to a cause.”
Mutwe was previously among a group of over 30 NUP supporters charged with treason in 2018 following political violence in Arua. His name has become synonymous with political repression and the brutal treatment of opposition figures by Ugandan security agencies.
Below is the full statement
THE STATE OF EDDIE MUTWE
We just returned from Masaka Main Prison, where we checked on our comrades Eddie Mutwe, Achileo Kivumbi, Mugumya Gaddafi, and Wakabi Grace.
Eddie Mutwe is alive – that’s the only good news.
He is in great pain. He was brutalised in the most barbaric manner. He was electrocuted. He was subjected to water boarding, while they stuffed a piece of cloth in his mouth and tied it around his neck. They squeezed his private parts and hit them with a baton. They tied his arms with hand-cuffs and stepped on them, which ate into his skin. They put other cuffs on his legs. They flogged him four times every day for all the time he spent under incommunicado detention. The first torture session started early morning.
They gave him only one meal a day – posho and beans. When he asked for water, he was told to drink the water which he was sitting in – which he says was very dirty and contained traces of blood.
There was a loud speaker in the room, which they switched on whenever torture sessions started, so that his loud cries could not be heard by anyone.
They forced him to put on Museveni’s t-shirt for the time he was there. They put him on gunpoint and commanded him to kneel down and swear allegiance to Museveni and his son while they recorded him. They stripped him naked and took his pictures. They cut off his beard violently while mocking him.
Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Keinerugaba, came on the third day and personally participated in the torture. He challenged Eddie to fight him if he thinks he is strong. A man on handcuffs!
One of the operatives came and asked him, “Amagara?” which means “How is life?” in Runyakore. Not knowing the response, he responded in Luganda, saying they hadn’t given him Amagara. They mocked him, asked how he could not know Runyakore and started beating him without mercy. He was asked several questions in Runyakore but didn’t know how to answer. They would laugh at his ignorance of the language and beat him. He wondered where they got the joy from. One of them spat on his face, and that hurt him deeply.
Most of the beatings targeted his feet, which swelled up. “It was like I had elephantiasis by the time I left that place.” He days. He is only healing now, but he is still unable to walk unaided.
They injected him with three injections – the purpose of which he did not know.
After all the torture, they would ask him to do press-ups and frog jumps.
He says he was detained in a basement of what looked like a good home and later on taken to another military facility. During interrogation, he would be blind folded and asked who we are to challenge Museveni!
That is only part of the story! Since we went with his mother, wife, and his eight-month baby, he reached a point and broke down and didn’t want to say more. He says that he has difficulty finding sleep. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees these monsters approaching him.
Eddie Mutwe should not be in jail. He should be in a hospital. His colleagues too should not be in jail. They committed no offence.
Human rights defenders and political observers are now intensifying calls for an independent investigation into the alleged torture and immediate access to medical treatment for all affected individuals.
As of Wednesday evening, there had been no official response from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), the Uganda Police Force, or the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the new claims.
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