KAMPALA, UGANDA — Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine, President of the National Unity Platform (NUP), has expressed dissatisfaction regarding the European Union Delegation’s recent meeting with Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, citing ongoing human rights abuse allegations against him.
Speaking alongside the EU Head of Delegation, Ambassador Jan Sadek, at the NUP party headquarters in Makerere Kavule, Kyagulanyi stated that such an encounter creates the perception that “the European Union is supporting their oppressor.”
“The EU wanted to discuss our plan and preparation for the election, but ultimately, the meeting mainly focused on the issue of human rights, which they also hold so dear. We also took the opportunity to raise our concern about the seeming hobnobbing of the diplomats with a brutal person who is Gen. Museveni’s son. We expressed our concern that the people of Uganda tend to view it as support for their oppression. Of course, the leader of the delegation took the opportunity to explain himself,” Kyagulanyi said.
The EU ambassadors visited NUP headquarters to discuss the upcoming 2026 general election. During the meeting, Kyagulanyi also raised concerns about the health condition of his bodyguard, Edward Ssebuufu, commonly known as Eddie Mutwe, who is currently detained at Masaka Prison on aggravated robbery charges.
Prior to his appearance at Masaka court, Ssebuufu had been missing for over a week and, according to witnesses, appeared to have been tortured. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba had previously stated on his X page that he had detained Ssebuufu and was “teaching him Runyankore.”
“I took the opportunity to also raise the plight of our brother Eddie Mutwe, who is also rotting away in jail. I mentioned that it would go a long way to help him if the voice of the development partners is raised to get urgent specialized treatment,” Kyagulanyi said.
In response, Ambassador Sadek clarified that their meeting should not be interpreted as a partisan exercise, as they intend to engage with all political parties to understand their election preparations.
“This is one of the meetings we are pursuing with all the political parties. We are doing this because Uganda is heading for elections next year. We expect more Ugandans to take greater interest in this. We also as diplomats in Uganda we follow very closely what is going on in this country. Together with the leadership of NUP, we discussed the status of affairs in Uganda and how this will affect the elections next year,” Sadek said.
He also expressed concern over the militarization of political processes. “We have seen this year that there has been violence around the by-election in Kawempe North. We have expressed our concern as well as the intervention by the security forces against the team members of the president, and we have expressed our concerns about that as well. We appeal to all political forces in this country to respect the ideals of democracy and to ensure that there are fair and credible results,” Sadek said.
Uganda is scheduled to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in January of the following year. The preliminary electoral processes, including the display of the voters’ register, have already commenced.
