Published on 08/09/2025
National Unity Platform (NUP) deputy spokesperson Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro has been abducted outside Kawempe Magistrates Court by plainclothes operatives, according to Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi.
Mufumbiro, who was at the court with Ssenyonyi and other NUP officials to witness the hearing of Eddie Mutwe’s case, was seized as he left the premises.
Ssenyonyi said Mufumbiro was violently grabbed and pushed into a silver Toyota Noah, registration number UAK 368K, before being driven to an unknown location.
On X (formerly Twitter), Ssenyonyi wrote: “NUP deputy spokesperson Alex Waiswa has been arrested. On his way out, he was violently grabbed and pushed by the military into a Noah, registration number UAK 368K, silver in color, and taken to an unknown place. The cowardice and criminality of the regime is baffling.”
Police, however, denied any knowledge of the incident.
“As of now, I don’t have any information regarding the arrest or whereabouts of NUP deputy spokesperson Alex Mufumbiro,” police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said in a phone interview.
The abduction followed a wave of arrests of NUP supporters. Just last week, several members, including Calvin Tasi a.k.a. Bobi Giant, were arrested in Katakwi.
NUP has repeatedly accused security agencies of targeting its members for intimidation, especially during election periods.
During the 2021 election cycle, dozens of its supporters were abducted by armed personnel and held incommunicado.
Some were later released without charge, while others remain in custody or unaccounted for. Security agencies have denied the accusations, insisting that arrests have been carried out lawfully.
The latest incident has raised fears within the opposition that Uganda is sliding back into a similar cycle of enforced disappearances and harassment ahead of the 2026 elections.
