Several people loyal to National Unity Platform Principal Kyagulanyi Ssentamu are living in fear following increased crackdowns and arrests in different parts of the country.
Plainclothed security operatives have continuously arrested people, especially those close to Bobi Wine, for unclear reasons. Many have been detained and tortured, and others are still missing.
The subsequent arrests have forced several youthful activists to abandon their known residences and flee to live under fear.
A source in security circles said that the National Unity Platform (NUP) opposition political party has turned into a rogue tribal sectarian outfit whose impudence, bullying, mob mentality, and crude arrogance at the national level must be knocked down if Uganda is to maintain stability and social cohesion.
He said that like Hitler’s youth brigades, NUP activists share the same agenda in the belief and identity through costumes, intimidation, intolerance, violence, bigotry, and other fascist tendencies.
The Intelligence source says that some rogue youths have infiltrated government offices and work in ministries, departments, and agencies. They aim to discredit Uganda in the eyes of the Western world.
“Some are hiding under AGORA Discourse, a digital public square that purports to promote human rights, public accountability, and social justice, yet all they do is get funding from the Western world to undermine government, which is treason,” they said.
When we spoke to Patrick Onyango, the Deputy Police spokesperson, he admitted the police were arresting activists to place them under preventive arrest.
He declined to confirm whether Ssendianyo Kabuye Ivan, a photojournalist with state-owned media house New Vision who recently went missing, was under their custody. He confirmed that Kabuye and many others were persons of interest to security.
He said that at least 32 activists have been released on police bond or granted bail by the court after arrest for participating in the march to parliament protests.
Between July 22 and July 25, 2024, demonstrators attempted to march to parliament in Kampala, leading to significant police intervention.
He said security has a list of some of the radicalized NUP diehards, and the process to profile them out was underway.
Recently, NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi, via X, said that NUP was not in charge of the march to Parliament, but they support whoever is organizing it. This was after some of NUP’s leaders were reportedly being held by police unknown