Writer: Musaazi Namiti. PHOTO/COURTESY
You do not have to be a lawyer to know the basics about Ugandan law, especially with respect to people suspected of wrongdoing. The police arrest them and take them to court for trial. They are not supposed to be in police custody for more than 48 hours — and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
But it appears only suspects who have nothing to do with politics are handled in accordance with the laws. Those with close links to Opposition politicians are handled differently. The latest prize example is Mr Edward Ssebuufu, also known as Eddie Mutwe, the bodyguard of National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi. NUP officials insist he was abducted — not arrested — because they saw no arrest warrant, did not know where he was being held and made desperate appeals (on camera) for his release.
As Ugandans discussed Mr Ssebuufu’s abduction on social media, army chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who has gained a certain notoriety for firing off outrageous and embarrassing posts, callously announced he was holding the bodyguard in his basement.
That post travelled widely and attracted global media attention. Then photos of Mr Ssebuufu, his trademark thick black beard apparently forcibly removed during detention, started circulating on social media.
When calls by prominent Ugandans to free Mr Ssebuufu intensified, he and other suspects were arraigned before a court in Masaka on May 5 on charges of robbery, assault and malicious damage to property.
The charges are in connection with last year’s incident in Lwengo District at the burial of a Ugandan businessman who was based in the UK.
According to media reports, NUP guards had instructed journalists not to film a confrontation where Mr Abed Bwanika, the Kimanya-Kabonera MP, criticised Mr Kyagulanyi for allegedly sponsoring attacks against party members who disagreed with his leadership.
NBS journalist Zeinab Namusaazi recounted that Achilleo Kivumbi, a NUP bodyguard, ordered his colleagues to seize Bwanika’s microphone, sparking a scuffle that journalists sought to film.
“They threatened us because they didn’t want any negative coverage. Some journalists were pressured to delete footage of Bwanika’s speech, but they resisted, leading to damage or theft of their equipment, including phones and cameras,” Ms Namusaazi said, according to the Observer.
Mr Ssebuufu’s name is not mentioned in the incident. But if indeed he committed the alleged offences, the law needs to take its full course, not torture.
Yet the manner of his arrest has raised more questions than it answers. Why, for example, did the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) intervene when his job has nothing to do with arresting suspected offenders? Why wasn’t Mr Ssebuufu arrested last May when he allegedly committed the offences? Under which law is the CDF allowed to hold a suspect in a basement and forcibly shave them?
From Dr Kizza Besigye to Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) supporters arrested in Kenya to MPs Allan Ssewanyana and Muhammad Ssegirinya, the government has a depressingly familiar history of victimising political opponents. They are arrested and accused of serious crimes without evidence.
When the government arrested the MPs in 2021, it linked them to the killings in Masaka that left 30 civilians dead. While the pair languished in prison for years, the courts could not even adduce a jot of incriminating evidence. Eventually, the MPs were freed, and Ssegirinya, who was in poor health, was fighting for his life. He died earlier this year.
In 2006, Dr Besigye, a former presidential candidate currently on remand in Luzira Prison for what the state calls treasonable offences, was charged with rape. The court dismissed the case for lack of evidence.
Mr Ssebuufu’s case will be followed keenly. But few Ugandans will be surprised if it ends up like the Besigye rape case or that of FDC supporters.
The writer, Musaazi Namiti, is a journalist and former Al Jazeera digital editor in charge of the Africa desk
