Waiswa Mufumbiro, Saudah Madada remanded on ‘unlawful drilling’ charges, NUP says rampant arrests a ploy to delay liberation of Uganda
Mufumbiro and Madada were added to a charge sheet that already includes other NUP activists, namely Eddie Mutwe, Achileo Kivumbi, Tasi Calvin, also known as Bobi Giant, and four other unnamed individuals.
Two prominent figures from Uganda’s opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), Deputy Spokesperson Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro and activist Saudah Madada, were today arraigned before Kanyanya Court on charges of “unlawful drilling” and subsequently remanded to Luzira Prison. The party has vehemently condemned the charges as “trumped up” and decried the arrests as a gross violation of rights.?
Mufumbiro and Madada were added to a charge sheet that already includes other NUP activists, namely Eddie Mutwe, Achileo Kivumbi, Tasi Calvin, also known as Bobi Giant, and four other unnamed individuals. They will remain in Luzira Prison until September 29th, when their application for bail is scheduled to be heard.
In a strongly worded statement issued shortly after the arraignment, the National Unity Platform labeled the charges as baseless and condemned what it described as “gross rights violations by the criminal regime.” The party criticized the “hostile manner” in which its comrades were allegedly “brutally roughed up and unjustly detained,” asserting that the “blatant misuse of the courts of law to silence the dissent projects a regime thriving on borrowed time.” The statement concluded with a defiant promise: “Very soon it is the oppressed Ugandans that will have the final laugh!”
Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, echoed these sentiments, accusing the state of a deliberate strategy to curb the NUP’s political activities. Ssenyonyi stated that the arrests are intended to “force them to spend time in court instead of focusing on efforts to liberate the country,” describing the actions as “a form of persecution, not justice.” He maintained that this strategy “will not weaken the party’s momentum.”
Meanwhile, NUP leader Bobi Wine (Robert Kyagulanyi) visited political prisoners at Luzira Upper Prison this afternoon, including Eddie Mutwe, Achileo Kivumbi, Bobi Young, and Bobi Giant. He also extended his visit to Dr. Kizza Besigye and his colleague Hajj. Obeid Lutale, who are also incarcerated there. Bobi Wine reported that despite the “persecution,” their spirits remained unbroken.
The arrests and subsequent remand of the NUP officials underscore the ongoing tension between the opposition and the state, with the NUP consistently alleging political persecution and a crackdown on dissent.
