Ugandan army chief says torturing opposition aide 'in his basement'
There has been a mounting crackdown on the opposition ahead of the general election in January and the moves come as Wine was set to launch a "protest vote" campaign.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is head of the army but also the son and heir-apparent of long-ruling President Yoweri Museveni, posted on X late on Thursday that Wine's bodyguard, Eddie Mutwe, had been captured "like a grasshopper".
"He is in my basement... You are next," Kainerugaba, known for his notorious posts on X, responded to Wine after the latter said on social media that Mutwe had been abducted.
Kainerugaba also alluded to Mutwe being tortured, saying he had beaten him and shaved his head, adding: "I still have to castrate him".
"If they keep on provoking us, we shall discipline them even more," he said of the opposition.
Uganda has faced international condemnation over the abduction of opposition figures, including that of veteran leader Kizza Besigye, who was seized in Kenya last year and forcibly returned to face treason charges.
Wine, a former singer whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has become the leading opponent to Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986.
On Friday he said on X that security forces had "just raided and cordoned off our headquarters".
He also condemned the abduction of Mutwe, telling AFP it was "a reminder to the world as to how law and order has broken down in Uganda".
"For Muhoozi to confirm the abduction and illegal detention of Eddie Mutwe and sharing his photos half naked signals to the level of impunity the rogue regime has reached," he added.
A police spokesman told AFP he had not been briefed on Mutwe's case.
- 'Violently abducted' -
Uganda is set to hold a general election in January, with Museveni looking to extend his 40-year rule.
The last election in 2021 was marred by widespread reports of irregularities and severe violence from the security forces, which Museveni blamed on "indiscipline" and "laziness".
AFP/File | BADRU KATUMBA
The US-based Holocaust Memorial Museum recently warned of possible "mass atrocities" around the 2026 election.
On Sunday, Wine's party, the National Unity Platform, said Mutwe had been "violently abducted" by armed men wearing uniforms associated with the Special Forces Command, an elite unit of Uganda's army.
The NUP said heavily armed security forces had sealed off its headquarters in the capital Kampala prior to Friday's raid.
The opposition was planning to use the HQ to launch a campaign to urge Ugandans to vote against the government in the general election and demonstrate to protect their democratic rights.
Kainerugaba is notorious for his unfiltered posts on X.
Earlier this year, he threatened to behead Wine and they have sparred repeatedly online.
His comments have occasionally drawn Uganda into diplomatic spats.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
6 hours ago
- eNCA
Zim economy is stable and growing
HARARE - Zanu PF spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa says that President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration has created a stable middle-class economy, which has resulted in political stability. "We say you can't quarrel with success. The president has delivered economic success, and it speaks for itself. That's a middle-class economy that we are creating," "It is why our economy is pumping, that is why there is political stability, because when you create a middle-class economy, you have also created stability in the economy," Mutsvangwa explained. But former Finance Minister Tendai Biti says corruption has led to the total collapse of the country's economy. "I reckon that we are losing as much as US$5 billion a year through smuggling. So whilst the economy is overheating and it's producing a lot of extractive commodities, there are not benefiting any individual, they are not benefiting the country, and they are not transforming lives. So when Zanu PF claims that this economy is growing, it's meaningless growth because it can't be seen and experienced by any Zimbabweans," argued Biti.
Eyewitness News
10 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Key Somalia town of Maxaas falls to Al-Shabaab
MOGADISHU - Islamist militants took control of the strategic town of Maxaas in central Somalia on Sunday after heavy fighting with the army and local militias, military sources said. The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab has taken dozens of towns and villages since launching an offensive early this year, reversing almost all of the gains made by the government in its own military campaign in 2022 and 2023. In a statement, Al-Shabaab said it had taken the town of Maxaas, around 300 kilometres (186 miles) from the capital Mogadishu, which is considered a strategic hub for transport and logistics in the central region. Members of the Somali National Army confirmed the fall of Maxaas, though claimed it was a "tactical retreat". Mohamed Dahir, an army commander in the area, told AFP that Al-Shabaab had attacked with "car bombs and hundreds of heavily armed" fighters early on Sunday. "The brave members of the Somali army and the local community militias fought them fiercely outside town before making a tactical retreat to pre-established defensive positions outside town," he said by phone. Maxaas had been held by Ethiopian troops, part of the African Union's security force, until they handed over the military base to the Somali National Army in August 2024. The government had also relied on the support of local militias opposed to Al-Shabaab. "Al-Shabab militants managed to enter the town after heavy fighting this morning," Ali Hayo, a local militia fighter told AFP by phone, speaking from a nearby location. "There is still sporadic gunfire outside town, but I can confirm that the terrorists are now controlling Maxaas. "The fighting is not over, we are still close to the town, and we are expecting to engage in counteroffensives," he said.
Eyewitness News
10 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Food airdropped into Gaza as Israel says opening aid routes
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories- Jordanian and Emirati planes dropped food into Gaza on Sunday, as Israel began a limited "tactical pause" in military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. The Israeli military said it had also begun airdropping food into the Palestinian territory -- making one drop of seven palettes -- while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he characterised as UN "lies" that his government was to blame for the dire humanitarian situation. The army also dismissed allegations that it had been using starvation as a weapon, saying it had coordinated with the UN and international agencies to "increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip". UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed the tactical pauses, saying he was in "contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window". But the UN's World Food Programme said a third of the population of Gaza had not eaten for days, and 470,000 people were "enduring famine-like conditions" that were already leading to deaths. The Israeli decision came as international pressure mounted on Netanyahu's government to head off the risk of mass starvation in the territory. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined the chorus of concern on Sunday, urging Netanyahu "to provide the starving civilian population in Gaza with urgently needed humanitarian aid now." Accusing the UN of fabricating "pretexts and lies about Israel" blocking aid, Netanyahu said in remarks at an airbase that "there are secure routes" for aid. "There have always been, but today it's official. There will be no more excuses," he added. Since Israel imposed a total blockade on aid entering Gaza on March 2, the situation inside the territory has deteriorated sharply. More than 100 NGOs warned this week of "mass starvation". Though aid has trickled back in since late May, the UN and humanitarian agencies say Israeli restrictions remain excessive and road access inside Gaza is tightly controlled. 'LIFE'S WISH' The Jordanian military said its planes, working with the United Arab Emirates, had delivered 25 tonnes of aid in three parachute drops over Gaza on Sunday. Truckloads of flour were also seen arriving in northern Gaza through the Zikim area crossing from Israel, according to AFP journalists. The charity Oxfam's regional policy chief Bushra Khalidi called Israel's latest moves a "welcome first step" but warned they could prove insufficient. "Starvation won't be solved by a few trucks or airdrops," she said. "What's needed is a real humanitarian response: ceasefire, full access, all crossings open, and a steady, large-scale flow of aid into Gaza. "We need a permanent ceasefire, a complete lifting of the siege." In general, humanitarian officials are deeply sceptical airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants. In Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa district, 30-year-old Suad Ishtaywi said her "life's wish" was to simply feed her children. She spoke of her husband returning empty-handed from aid points daily. Chaotic scenes broke out at the site where Israel conducted its first food drop, witnesses told AFP. Samih Humeid, a 23-year-old from the Al-Karama neighbourhood of Gaza City, said dozens of people had gathered to rush towards the palettes of supplies parachuted onto the area. "It felt like a war, everyone trying to grab whatever they could. Hunger is merciless. The quantities were extremely limited, not enough even for a few people, because hunger is everywhere. I only managed to get three cans of fava beans," he said. In a social media post, the Israeli military announced it had "carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip". AFP journalists saw Egyptian trucks crossing from Rafah, with cargo routed through Israel's Kerem Shalom checkpoint for inspection before entering Gaza. The Israeli army's daily pause from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm will be limited to areas where its troops are not currently operating -- Al-Mawasi in the south, central Deir el-Balah and Gaza City in the north. Israel said "designated secure routes" would also open across Gaza for aid convoys carrying food and medicine. The military said the measures should disprove "the false claim of deliberate starvation". Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, citing "reasonable grounds" to suspect war crimes, including starvation -- charges Israel vehemently denies. ACTIVISTS INTERCEPTED On Sunday, according to the Gaza civil defence agency, Israeli army fire killed 27 Palestinians, 12 of them near aid distribution areas. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. Separately, the Israeli navy brought an activist boat, the Handala operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, into the part of Ashdod, after intercepting and boarding it late Saturday to prevent it attempting to breach a maritime blockade of Gaza. The legal rights centre Adalah told AFP its lawyers were in Ashdod and had met with 19 of the 21 detained activists and journalists from 10 countries. The other two detainees, dual US-Israeli nationals, had been transferred to Israeli police custody, the group said. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
