The Justice Minister says Eddie Mutwe has shown signs of abuse in court appearances and his lawyers say he was tortured daily.
The Minister of Justice said that opposition activists who claimed that Ugandan military chief Mufuji Kainergaba had been captured in his basement had been captured in his basement.
Eddie Mutwe, acting as the chief bodyguard of Bobi Wine, a leading Uganda opposition figure, went missing on April 27 after being grabbed by an armed man near the capital Kampala, according to the Wine National Unity Platform (NUP) party.
The defence force chief, a longtime child of longtime President Yoweri Museveni, said he had detained Mutwe last week, and wrote that he had captured X “like a Grasshopper” and “used as a punching bag.”
Kainergaba also hinted at Mutwe who was tortured, saying that he beat him and shaved his head.
“If they continue to provoke us, we’ll punish them even more,” he said of the opposition.
Faced with robbery fees
Mutwe was filed in court on Monday and was taken into custody on burglary charges, his lawyer said.
In a statement released late Monday, Justice Minister Norbert Mao said Mutwe appeared in court saying that he was “visibly weak and showing signs of torture.”
Maoze, an opposition leader who was appointed Minister of Justice in 2022, said:
Mao did not say who was responsible for Mutwe’s condition, but asked the court to deal with the opposition case quickly.
Mutwe’s lawyer Magellan Kazibwe told reporters outside the court on Monday that his client was tortured daily and electrocuted during detention.
He is in my basement. Learn Runyankore. You’re next! https://t.co/8pmgdgcru2
– Muhoozi Kainerugaba (@mkaierugaba) May 1, 2025
Opposition parties crackdown
It comes amid the escalating crackdown on Uganda as the court prepares to launch a “protest vote” campaign ahead of the January general election.
Wine on Friday – Wine, the former singer whose real name is Robert Kyagulany and Museveni’s main opponent, said in X that security forces “just raided and covered it up from our headquarters.”
He also denounced Mutwe’s aid, telling AFP news agency that it was “a reminder to the world about how law and order fell apart in Uganda.”
Also known as Ugandan musician-turned-politician Robert Kagulany and Bobi Wine. [File: Badru Katumba/AFP]
Kainergaba, widely regarded as being groomed to take over his 80-year-old father, frequently makes cent comments on social media, writing that he wants to decapitate the wine to X.
The Ugandan government faces international accusations of opposition aid, including veteran leader Kizabeshigi, who was seized in Kenya last year and forced to return to face treason.
Museveni, who has been sentenced since 1986 and has planned to seek reelection in January, has denied allegations of human rights abuses.
However, the Uganda Law Association said Mutwe’s aiding was not an isolated incident.
Instead, it is “part of a systematic campaign to silence and crush the aspirations of young people who long for freedom,” the group said in a statement.
The Uganda Human Rights Commission, tasked with investigating abuse and monitoring the government’s human rights records, said it issued an order on Friday directing authorities to release Mutwe.
