Torture Cases On The Rise In Uganda

A new report has revealed that 1,227 suspects were tortured in Uganda in 2015. This revelation was made by the Africa Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (ACTV), a non -governmental organisation charged with providing services to survivors and victims of torture in Uganda.

The ACTV programme director, Mr Micheal Bamulengeyo, said the organisation conducts visits to police stations, army barracks and prisons as part of its investigations into alleged human rights abuses in detention facilities.

"We found out that last year alone new torture victims were 1,227, meaning that torture is still a big challenge in this country," Mr Bamulangeyo told Daily Monitor during an interview last Friday at Boma ground in Kasese Town after a one-day training workshop on human rights.

Mr Bamulangeyo, however, acknowledged that many cases have been listened to under the human rights commission's tribunal where some have been compensated for damages caused.

Police community liason officer Moris Sunday, who was at the training, defended police detention for more than 48 hours saying it only applies to capital offenses which need more time for inquiries.

Last week, Rwenzori region police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe defended operations of the Flying Squad, which was accused of torturing suspects, saying it was their mandate to use reasonable force to execute their duties.

The numbers

The Africa Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (ACTV) says 1002 torture cases were registered in 2014.

A Uganda Human Rights Commission report that was released in 2013 states that torture and cruel treatment or punishment increased from 23.7 per cent in 2007 to 28.3 per cent in 2010, 34.77 per cent in 2011 and to 35.31 per cent in 2012.

The report, indicates that the human rights body registered 706 cases in 2012 compared to 1, 021 in 2011, a 31 per cent decrease. Cases against the police, decreased from 457 in 2011 to 346 in 2012.

Muntu to Museveni - Stop Using Brutal Force

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) President Gen Mugisha Muntu warned on Saturday, four days after the arrest and detention of Col Kizza Besigye, that President Museveni should desist from using excessive force and money to suppress the opposition.

Besigye, the former FDC presidential candidate and runner-up in the February presidential election, was arrested in downtown Kampala after beating a 24-hour police siege at his home. He was flown and detained in the far northeastern Moroto district on May 11.

He was later arraigned in a court in Moroto on May 13 on treason charges for allegedly declaring himself the duly-elected president. At the Saturday press conference he addressed outside the locked FDC head office at Najjanankumbi, Gen Muntu said President Museveni and his regime have decided to use police and the army to suppress whoever they think is a threat to their hold onto power.

"He is now using excessive force, money and manipulation to ensure that he retains power, but using all those methods will not work; we only need to sit and look into the fundamental problems of this country," Muntu said.

"Even the security organs he [Museveni] is trying to use, the voting patterns clearly indicated that they are also pro-change and that is why he is panicking, he is even going to meet them at Kololo during the weekend [May 14]," he added.

Muntu told journalists that since Dr Besigye was arrested and taken to court without legal representation; FDC officials will meet Monday, May 16 to forge a way forward.

"One of the issues is, we want to see how we can send lawyers to Moroto for his rescue and to tell the country our way forward; he was paraded before court at around 6:30pm, and that shows how the regime is determined to suffocate the opposition," Muntu said.

According to security sources, Besigye was airlifted to Moroto at around 6pm after his arrest earlier on Wednesday in downtown Kampala. On Saturday, insider police sources said Besigye had been transferred from Moroto prison to Luzira prison.

Besigye was reportedly flown from Moroto on Friday evening. He returns to court on May 25.

NO- GO- AREA

Currently, the FDC party headquarters in Najjanankumbi is a no-go area. All regular party staff were arrested at the start of last week, according to the shadow finance minister Geoffrey Ekanya.

"You can even see now, we cannot access our offices and that is why the party president has addressed journalists outside his office," Ekanya said.

"Our chief administrative officer Rose Nassanga cannot also access the building; so, I don't know what Museveni wants us to do because these are our offices, not his," he added.

Interviewed for this story, the police officer in charge at the FDC office, who identified himself only as AIP Nabonghor, said it was not true that party officials were denied access to their offices.

"Those are lies, for us we are only protecting the scene of crime and we have marked those areas, where access is denied, they are free to enter their offices," Nabonghor said.

But earlier in the morning, one policeman said they have instructions from higher-ups not to allow anyone inside the FDC compound.

Museveni Orders Investigation Into Besigye's Escape

FDC's Dr Col Kizza Besigye's dramatic escape from a police siege at his Kasangati home on Wednesday jolted Dictator Yoweri Kaguta Museveni into ordering Gen Kale Kayihura, the police chief, to investigate whether some of his top police officers connived with his political archrival.

Insider sources said the investigating team will include officers from the presidential guard unit called the Special Forces Command (SFC) and some officers from the Police Professional Standards Unit (PSU). The team has less than two weeks to report its findings.

SFC spokesperson Maj Chris Magezi says: "This [investigation] is police work and if at all SFC officers are investigating, they follow police orders."

Interviewed on Saturday for a comment, police deputy spokesperson Polly Namaye said she wasn't aware of any ongoing investigation.

"Police officers are not under arrest as people say because their role was to closely monitor Besigye and his movements, but not to keep him under arrest. When he [Besigye] caused chaos in town, he was arrested and taken to court."

According to sources, the senior officers under investigation include James Ruhweza, the operational commander of Kampala Metropolitan Police (KMP), Wesley Nganizi, the KMP North regional police commander, Emmanuel Bamuzibire, the KMP field force police commander, the Kasangati district police commander, OC station Kasangati, the KMP crime intelligence officer and head of security at Besigye's home.

Sources said, Museveni ordered the investigation after he was informed that Besigye's escape could have been aided by some disgruntled police officers.

Besigye beat the heavy security surveillance at his home and ended up in downtown Kampala in the embrace of huge crowds of adoring supporters just a day to the inauguration of President Museveni. He was later arrested and flown to Moroto, out of reach of his relatives, lawyers and supporters.

HOW BESIGYE ESCAPED

Insider FDC sources said that on Wednesday, the day Besigye was supposed to be sworn as the people's president in protest at the February 18 presidential election result, which he disputes, he summoned his boda boda rider in Kasangati town to his home. Before the boda boda rider arrived, Besigye alerted the policemen at his gate to let the cyclist through.

The police at the gate reportedly obliged and allowed the cyclist into Besigye's home. Sources said that on reaching inside, Besigye dressed like the cyclist complete with a head helmet and rode back, through the gate and into Kasangati town without police detection.

His empty car, according to sources, followed him minutes later. Besigye used some shortcuts to avoid heavy traffic and ended up near Mukwano arcade where he found his car and proceeded to Mini Price where he addressed a rally before his arrest.

Sources add that when Kayihura learnt of Besigye's presence in the city centre, he ordered the police special operations unit to take over. The arrest of Besigye was commanded by Nixon Asingwire, the commander special operations. Afraid that Besigye could disrupt Thursday's inauguration ceremony, Kayihura, according to sources, ordered Asingwire not to detain Besigye in Kampala.

Asingwire moved Besigye to Moroto. The trip to Moroto was a closely-guarded secret. Many police officers were told Besigye had been taken to Naggalama police station and later Kasangati. Some police officers and FDC supporters learnt of Besigye's incarceration in Moroto the following day at around 2pm.

QUESTIONS POLICE OFFICERS MUST ANSWER

Sources said that Kayihura wants his under fire senior police officers to explain why they allowed the boda boda rider into Besigye's home yet they were under strict orders not to let anyone in because most of the retired colonel's would-be visitors had been placed under house arrest at their respective homes.

"I want someone who gave the order allowing that rider inside Besigye's home," Kayihura reportedly said.

Kayihura also wants his officers to explain why they did not escort the rider up to Besigye's sitting room after allowing him inside the compound. Insiders added that the police chief wants his cops to explain why they did not check the rider on his way out.

"If the rider was checked before entering, why wasn't he checked when leaving?" a fuming Kayihura reportedly said.

Other sources said the officers on guard duty could have aided Besigye to flee his home because they had not been paid their daily allowances. When Besigye was put under house arrest after the presidential election, the men and women on guard were paid daily allowances to keep the retired colonel at his residence. Sources added that every officer used to get at least Shs 20,000 daily and the force spent over Shs 8m a day.

That operation was under the watch of Andrew Felix Kaweesi, the director of research and training. However, according to insider sources, no allowances were paid in the run-up to Besigye's escape on Wednesday.

"Police got more than Shs 300m for the swearing-in operation but we have been on duty for five days and we have not seen any coin; where is our money going?" one policeman asked.

He added that officers at Besigye's home could have let him loose out of frustration. This is not the first time Besigye is beating heavy security surveillance at his home.

Two years ago, he escaped when Sam Omala, then commander of the police field force, was in charge of keeping him under lock and key at Kasangati.

Museveni Now Shifts Focus to Review of Constitution

After Dictator Museveni's swearing-in, attention now shifts to constitutional reforms, with some leaders suggesting that removal of the age limit is the only remaining hurdle that can stop Dictator Museveni, 71, from extending his stay at the expiry of his current term in 2021.

Constitutional and electoral reforms remain key demands from both the opposition and activists. However, these demands are being countered by quiet mobilisation within the ruling National Resistance Movement to remove any hurdles to another Museveni candidature after the next five years.

It was understood that the matter came up for discussion at the new NRM MPs induction retreat in Kyankwanzi Leadership Training Institute between March 25 and 30.

At his inauguration, Dictator Museveni focused on his agenda for the next five years and launched a vitriolic attack on the West's hypocrisy in regard to the International Criminal Court.

Other leaders described by a senior NRM party insider as "third term presidents" to mean leaders who have either changed or are seeking to change their constitutions to stay in power include Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Both leaders are above 75 and have held power for more than 30 years.

Any amendment of the Constitution may also try to deal with a strict provision requiring one to be declared winner of a presidential election after garnering 50 per cent plus one of the vote.

Dictator Museveni's main challenger, Kizza Besigye, turned 60 in late April, meaning that he remains eligible to contest for presidency at least two more times.

"It is not easy to say that this swearing in will be the last for Museveni," said Cecilia Ogwal, opposition chief whip.

Throughout the campaigns,Dictator Museveni did not mention retirement even once - even during the swearing in ceremony.

Age limit

Removal of the age limit has become a controversial debate. Last year, the issue resurfaced but it was not included in the items that were agreed upon for constitutional amendments in August 2015.

Sources earlier told Radio Katwe that in 2005, removal of the age limit formed part of the constitutional amendments, but the Cabinet deferred it in favour of removal of presidential term limits, "which was urgent."

"The age limit was pushed by the then NRM-leaning members of the Constituent Assembly to block Milton Obote from coming back and contesting the presidency. We, in the opposition resisted it strongly, but in the corridors, they would tell us that they did not want Obote back," said Ms Ogwal.

Legal experts, however, explained that some amendments will require a referendum, meaning that NRM will have to rally the whole country for the amendments to sail through.

Others like the age limits, experts said, will only require support of the legislators, an assignment that NRM can comfortably execute in parliament since it has numerical strength in the House.

War Veterans' Kids Form Anti-Museveni Group

Clad in purple t-shirts with imprints calling for political transition, self- professed children of former National Resistance Army combatants, have launched a pressure group advocating an end to President Museveni's dominance of the ruling NRM.

The group calls itself Youths for National Salvation (YONASA), a name modeled on Museveni's 1970s outfit, Front for National Salvation (FRONASA). It demands early reforms within the NRM and a stop to alleged efforts to prepare First Son Muhoozi Kainerugaba to replace his father as president.

"Museveni is fronting his son to take over after him; is that what our parents fought for?" Moses Kintu, the group's national coordinator, said at a press conference in Wobulenzi, Luweero.

"We feel Muhoozi is not ours...power shouldn't be concentrated within one family. It is not right and fair for Uganda. While he prepared his son, Museveni betrayed the children of other revolutionaries. As young people, we shall not sit back and look on as the nation is being taken in the wrong direction," Kintu added, as he introduced 10 group members before the media on Monday.

Although the 'Muhoozi project' has been talked about for years, it became a major talking point in 2013, when Gen David Sejusa alleged an official plot to eliminate anyone opposed to Muhoozi.

The army and government have persistently denied that there's any such scheme. The group launched in Luweero, the symbolic epicentre of guerilla war that brought Museveni to power in 1986.

"He [Museveni] has sidelined all his comrades but as the owners of the revolution, we will not look on. There are so many combatants in Luweero that have been sidelined and frustrated and up to now have never been compensated for their contribution to the struggle," Kintu said.

Some of the youths at the media launch are children of senior NRM leaders like Hajji Abdul Nadduli, the ruling party's vice chairman for Buganda.

Among documents carried to the press conference was a letter Nadduli wrote to Museveni raising similar complaints against what he called pervading nepotism, tribalism, marginalisation and unfair distribution of resources, which have made it difficult for citizens to benefit from the struggle of their deceased relatives.

The letter was written on July 4, 2014.

In that letter Nadduli reminded Museveni of their 33-year working relationship borne out of a gentleman's agreement reached on February 20, 1981.

The letter invokes the pains of the struggle as well as other tough assignments from Museveni, which Nadduli executed, including persuading Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II to cancel his 2009 trip to Bugerere (Kayunga district) at the height of the riots that had threatened Museveni's hold onto power.

"When it [came] to my demands, I have not gained anything from you [except for] being neglected here and there for reasons I cannot specifically [understand]," Nadduli wrote.

Kintu said his group is compiling evidence of Museveni's unfulfilled promises to the revolutionaries, which would form the core of their anti-Musevenism project.

"When our parents joined the NRA war [1980-86], Museveni promised equal opportunities for all Ugandans. That would mean equal access to jobs, resources and other services, which isn't the case. Instead, our parents and relatives fought for the emancipation of Museveni and his close relatives," Kintu said.

FREE TO GO

Interviewed on May 11, NRM's deputy spokesman Ofwono Opondo said the youths were free to join other political parties where Museveni is not a player.

"Much as it is not true that Museveni is dominating everything in NRM, no one is conscripted to join NRM simply because their parents fought," Opondo said.

Opondo urged the youths not to use their parents' contribution to the bush war to demand endless favours from government. He also refuted suggestions that the war veterans had been ignored.

"Some of the veterans went to the war not knowing that they will ever come back," Opondo said. "The lucky ones that did were recognised because under the NRM structures, we have the elders' league and in government's socio- economic programmes, we have specific programmes for the war zones."

Why U.S, EU Diplomats Walked Out Of Museveni's Inauguration

Diplomats of western countries led by United States on Thursday walked out of President Museveni’s inauguration ceremony in Kampala, protesting the leader’s remarks on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and hosting his Sudanese counterpart, Omar Bashir.

Museveni labeled the ICC “a bunch of useless people”, adding he did not know about their lack of seriousness when Uganda signed the Rome Statute.

“Our Brother El Bashir is here with us today. The ICC is none of our business. It is a useless body,” said Museveni.

“We used to support the ICC thinking they were serious but they are just a bunch of useless people.”

This compelled western diplomats to walk out of the function graced by several African heads of state including Robert Mugabe, Jacob Zuma, Salva Kiir, Uhuru Kenyatta and John Pombe Magufuli among others.

The U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau confirmed that U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Deborah Malac and a visiting Washington-based official, along with several European and Canadian diplomats, abruptly left the inauguration.

According to ABC news, Trudeau said the U.S. also objected to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s participation in the inauguration. Al-Bashir has been charged by the court for atrocities in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

Trudeau did not identify the European or Canadian diplomats involved. She said Museveni’s comments were “insulting” to both the court and to victims of war crimes and genocide.

“We believe that walking out in protest is an appropriate reaction to a head of state mocking effort to ensure accountability for victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly when his country has committed to accountability as a state party to the Rome Statute” that established the court, she said.

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US Ambassador to Uganda, Ms. Deborah Malac

By: Kim Aine May 13,2016 204 ViewedBe The First To Comment

Diplomats of western countries led by United States on Thursday walked out of President Museveni’s inauguration ceremony in Kampala, protesting the leader’s remarks on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and hosting his Sudanese counterpart, Omar Bashir.

Museveni labeled the ICC “a bunch of useless people”, adding he did not know about their lack of seriousness when Uganda signed the Rome Statute.

“Our Brother El Bashir is here with us today. The ICC is none of our business. It is a useless body,” said Museveni.

“We used to support the ICC thinking they were serious but they are just a bunch of useless people.”

This compelled western diplomats to walk out of the function graced by several African heads of state including Robert Mugabe, Jacob Zuma, Salva Kiir, Uhuru Kenyatta and John Pombe Magufuli among others.

The U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau confirmed that U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Deborah Malac and a visiting Washington-based official, along with several European and Canadian diplomats, abruptly left the inauguration.

According to ABC news, Trudeau said the U.S. also objected to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s participation in the inauguration. Al-Bashir has been charged by the court for atrocities in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

Trudeau did not identify the European or Canadian diplomats involved. She said Museveni’s comments were “insulting” to both the court and to victims of war crimes and genocide.

“We believe that walking out in protest is an appropriate reaction to a head of state mocking efforts to ensure accountability for victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly when his country has committed to accountability as a state party to the Rome Statute” that established the court, she said.

ChimpReports understands Bashir’s arrival was kept a secret until the last minute.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement saying he should not be welcomed.

“Uganda’s President Museveni has banned social media and detained some opposition leaders, but he’ll tarnish his inauguration further by welcoming Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, an international fugitive sought for alleged atrocities in Darfur,” said Maria Burnett, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“Al-Bashir belongs before the International Criminal Court, not attending inaugural celebrations. If al-Bashir does enter Uganda, Ugandan authorities should arrest him and send him to The Hague.”

Why Museveni blasted ICC

This website has asked senior officials why Museveni was angry with ICC and the West during his inauguration.

It will be recalled that since his days as a guerilla, Museveni received diplomatic support from western leaders.

In several regional conflicts, the U.S. has always been on Museveni’s side. It was not until recently that a fall-out became apparent.

Museveni blamed the west for spreading homosexuality and interfering with the running of Uganda’s domestic affairs.

Matters worsened when intelligence indicated that former ICC Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo was working closely with former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and opposition strongman Dr Kizza Besigye to open a case against the Ugandan leader.

Ocampo was photographed while meeting with the Ugandan opposition leaders during the TDA meetings in London, UK.

The African Union has previously warned that ICCcontinues to pursue a political agenda against the continent’s leaders, a charge the Hague-based court denies.

Museveni To Switch Off Social Media

Dicatator Museveni has authorised switching off the social media to stem what an official said was a “dangerous flow of hate message and calls for violence” ahead of Dictator Museveni’s inauguration tomorrow.

This won’t be the first time social media platforms are being shut down in Uganda.

On the eve of the February 18 elections, WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter were disconnected to prevent what government said was the spread of hate content on the forums.

“We are switching off social media today,” said a highly placed source who preferred anonymity so as to speak freely.

On Wednesday, a video of opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye swearing-in went viral on internet.

Who Is David Ngabo "FDC's Pastor" ?

Ever since Forum for Democratic Change started its weekly prayers as part of the "Free My Vote" campaign, a few months ago, Pastor David Happy Ngabo Tumusiime has featured prominently.

The man of God from Makerere Deliverance Church has been leading the prayers. For those in the know, it is a big surprise that he now "dines" with the Opposition and not President Museveni, someone he once regarded as more than a parent.

Happy Ngabo was adopted by President Museveni in 1981 when he was just four years old. Ngabo was then taken to study at Masuulita Primary School in Luwero with his two other sisters Winnie and Janet.

How it all started

Coming from the city,-at Kanjokya Street Kamwokya, the choice of Masuulita for the education of their children was rather curious. To their parents, John and Susan Tumusiime, however, it was the ideal boarding school because they had an uncle who would watch over them from there.

Their uncle Geresom, then deputy principal, would later become captain in UPDF and an officer in charge of supplies at Mbuya Military Hospital. At Masuulita, Ngabo was denied a place in Primary One because he was too young and instead admitted to a pre-primary class. His sisters Winnie and Janet joined Primary Two and Primary Five, respectively. The trio adapted rather quickly especially knowing that their uncle was in charge at the school.

It never occurred to them that their haven would soon turn into a battle-field and that they would not return home for the next four years. The political situation in Kampala was steadily becoming impetuous.

After the 1980 December general election, many Opposition leaders including Yoweri Museveni of Uganda Patriotic movement (UPM) were bitter with the outcome. They accused UPC leader Apollo Milton Obote of rigging.

Museveni, who prior to election was minister of Defence had warned that he would take up arms if elections were rigged, but nobody took heed.

To Ngabo and his sisters, this was all gibberish: Nothing they could comprehend. In fact, one month into their new school, they were excited to see a lorry of armed people in civilian attire marching through Masuulita town from Gobero through the papyrus swamps.

"They marched through the trading centre shouting and attracted every one's attention. They said they wanted people to know that Museveni was not joking when he warned of going to the bush to fight Obote," Ngabo recalls. Museveni's men later disappeared into the nearby forest. Two days later a big force of Obote's UNLF soldiers was sent to the area from Kampala.

Ngabo's fiery sermons point at injustices purportedly committed by government.

It was approaching evening when they came shooting in the air. Within minutes the whole place was engulfed in heavy shooting. "Some people abandoned their homes and fled into the bush. The headmaster of the school abruptly called for parade and told pupils to run for their lives and shortly afterwards he himself took off," says Ngabo.

The silver lining

Ngabo and his two sisters escaped to their uncle's home nearby and the following morning their uncle left promising to come for them after discovering a safe place. He never returned. Later in the day as shooting intensified, the three children held onto each other and run towards the forest.

"It was like a miracle. On the way we met tall, dark skinned soldiers in military uniforms under cover. They asked us whether we had seen any civilians carrying guns." The trio ignored the soldiers and scurried on as the (Obote) soldiers called and promised them sweets. They later met a group of villagers who had abandoned their homes and were hiding deep into the forest. Near these groups of villagers were Museveni's fighters who were under cover and assuring them of safety.

Ngabo recognised some people he would later know as Fred Rwigyema (deceased former RPF leader), Lt. Col. Frank Guma (RIP) and General Elly Tumwine. The three children stayed with them for three days. A prominent fighter called Kaggwa ordered them to go and stay in a small house where he would spend the nights himself.

After four days, Kaggwa went somewhere and returned in the evening to say that Mzee (Museveni ) had asked him to take the children to him. "The following day he took us to the NRM command post at Kijaguzo on a motor bike where we found Museveni seated outside a tent and listening to a radio," he shares.

Museveni lifted each one of them to his shoulder, greeted them and asked them their names, their parents and how they had got to Masuulita. "He teasingly pulled at my ears and nose and said that I was a Mwiru. He picked me up and said I would stay with him." Among the fighters that Ngabo found there are Gen Salim Saleh and Maj. Gen David Tunyefunza.

"I used to play a lot with Mzee, Saleh and Tinyefuza. They would put me on their back and at times run after me saying they wanted to train me to become a great runner. At times we would even play football," he adds.

Meanwhile, Ngabo's sisters were staying with Saleh's wife Jovia and Dora Kuteesa, wife of Col Pecos Kuteesa. Captain Olive Zizinga used to prepare food for the children and she would also wash them. Museveni had ordered that his "son" be given milk even if there was a shortage. Because Museveni cared for them so much, some fighters suspected the children were his.

Life in the bush

Months went by and the group which had swelled up in number shifted to Kapeeka- Semuto to escape advancing Obote forces. They would spend a week or two in one place before heading to Ngoma where they stayed for about six months. Ngabo also remembers the day when the rebels attacked Kabamba Barracks. "We were left at a distance in the home of a certain woman. Those in our company included Grace Kijanangoma and Lt Mbabazi. It was a difficult situation. Sometimes we used to cross rivers and during rainy season we would develop a skin disease called "Obuhere," he recalls.

Years went by and the children continued to enjoy Museveni's hospitality.

Around 1985, however, with the war intensifying, it was decided that they be taken back to Kampala. "Mzee ordered Matayo Kyaligonza and Moses Kigongo to organise our trip. We did not want to go back and besides after four years I couldn't tell how my parents looked like because I truly regarded Mzee was my father," Ngabo said.

Back home

They were entrusted in the hands of one fighter, John 'Airforce" Aziz who took them to a place commanded by Brig Chefe Ali and Reuben Ikondere near Lake Wamala. They spent the night there. The following day Chefe Ali put them on a bus and after a long journey only realised they were about to reach home when they got to Wandegeya.

In spite of earlier reluctance, they were excited to get home. "We found mum seated on a verandah at our Kamwokya home. She glanced at us from a distance, let out a loud scream and then broke out in both laughter and tears. She couldn't believe we were alive and said that the family had presumed we were dead." Their father and family members joined the party. Attempts were made to take Ngabo back to school. He was turned down at Peter Piper Nursery school (at Lohana academy) because he looked over-grown for Primary One. He was eventually accepted at City Primary School.

After the NRM took power in 1986, it was a while before they got an opportunity to meet Museveni. In 1987, Ngabo and his sisters bumped into Gen Salim Saleh. "He was so excited and took us to his Kampala home where we met his wife Jovia. We ate a lot of food and then (Saleh) drove us back home in the evening and promised to help us meet the president."

Reunion with Mzee

Ngabo and his sisters later met Maj. Gen Fred Rwigyema (RIP) at Kisementi and he told them that Mzee had asked about them. Rwigyema later took them to his Kololo home and phoned the late Col Sserwanga Lwanga to organise a meeting with the president. Two days later, Rwigyema took the three children to his home where they spent the night and the following day taken to State House Entebbe.

"We were warmly welcomed. We found Mzee seated near the swimming pool. On seeing us he began laughing, greeted and lifted us up. He said we had grown big. He pulled my ears and reminded me of those bush days."

Rwigyema went back to Kampala and left the children at State House. The President introduced them to the First Lady and their children. The president even invited them to return for other holidays. It was Ngabo that stayed with the first family the following holiday for a month. That was in 1989. Since then however, a lot seems to have happened and changed.

The man who once looked to President Museveni as a father figure has become one of the lead critics of the establishment.

FDC's Ingrid Turinawe Prison Ordeal

On Monday, the FDC secretary for mobilisation, INGRID TURINAWE, was arrested by police and taken to what was hitherto an unknown destination.

Until yesterday, nobody knew her whereabouts. In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, she was returned to her home. Turinawe yesterday told Benon Herbert Oluka what she went through.

"After I was arrested [in Gayaza], I was driven up to Nakasongola. The first thing they did was to make sure that I didn't communicate with anyone. Nobody knew where I was. I was thrown into police cells in Nakasongola district.

The only defiance tool I had was to reject their food because [I felt that] that food was not safe for me. Considering their actions of driving me all the way from here up to Nakasongola without telling anybody, you would also suspect some sinister motive. I thought they were hiding me from my people in order to give me food that can kill me.

I told them: "I will not eat your food. I will only eat food at home."

So, for two nights I didn't eat. I was weakening. They could clearly see that my health was not good because I was not eating anything. I did not even take a spoonful of water.

After some time, the police in Nakasongola developed a disagreement with the people who had arrested me. The police officers were saying: 'We cannot keep someone here who is not eating because she is going to die from here.'

They tried to give me food but I refused. At first they thought I was rejecting posho so they improvised and said they will give me other food which is not posho. They even said they can give me a chicken which I can cook for myself, but I told them: 'I cannot eat. What I need is only food from home which would be a way that would connect me with people so they know where I am.'

My situation worsened. They [the police in Nakasongola] started exchanging with people who had arrested me. They said: 'You allow her to talk to her people so that they can bring her food. If not, we will release her.'

That is the situation that forced them to come and pick me at midnight [on Monday] and drive me up to Kireka. At around 3am in Kireka, they entered me on their register but with a backdated date, because even in Nakasongola they had not registered me as a suspect. After entering me in the register, they wanted me to sign out within that very minute.

I said: 'No. I will not sign out because I was not arrested [from] here.'

Finally, they signed a bond for me and instructed me to report today [Tuesday] at 10am. I said, 'No. I will not come back. If you want me tomorrow at 10am, please keep me around. I am not complaining.

They started calling and consulting and, after that, they put me back in the van and drove me home. We arrived home at 4am."

Museveni To Buy Shs70bn Monitoring System Technology

Dictator Museveni's staffers at State House are in the final stages of procuring technology that could enable the government to break a billion-dollar mushrooming telecom fraud and also eavesdrop on international calls, Radio Katwe reports exclusively. The technology, called an Intelligent Network Monitoring/verification System (INMS), will cost the Ugandan taxpayer between $20-30 million (Shs. 66 billion--99 billion) and is expected to, for the first time, enable the country monitor the volume and billing of voice and data traffic of telecoms.

While Uganda has technology capabilities to eavesdrop on local calls, international calls and international communications by-pass fraud have been off its radar. Aware of this, some dubious individuals have skimmed billions of shillings off illegal re-routing on international calls. Individuals seeking to transmit sensitive information have also been using international lines, thereby, minimising risks of local eavesdropping.

Insiders say that, for Dictator Museveni, the biggest motivation to procure the INMS technology is its security features; including the eavesdropping capability. This technology will also bring the government closer to knowing how much money exactly telecoms make in their operations.

Since telecoms started operating, they have been doing what is called self-declaration to the sector regulator, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC).

As such, UCC and the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) have been levying fees and taxes based on what the telecoms say they earned.

UCC, for example, collects an annual levy on telecoms gross revenue of 2 percent. The levy constituted 27% of UCC's projected revenues in the financial year 2014/2015. And UCC is required to remit 1% of the operators' of this levy to the Consolidated Fund.

In the 2015 report published this year, the Auditor General, John Muwanga, added his voice to those that have raised a red flag on the regulator's reliance on the operators audited financial statements to raise invoices of the 2% levy on the revenue. The Auditor General noted that a review of the revenue collection system revealed that the UCC has not yet built capacity to independently verify the revenue figures reflected in the operators audited financial statements to counter the likelihood of audit risk/ or collusion.

"As such, there is a risk of under collecting revenue for the Commission in the circumstance," the Auditor General's report said.

In his audit, the AG noted that the regulator said that procurement of a traffic monitoring system is on-going and will enable monitoring of telecom traffic and verification of revenues submitted by operators.

A month-long investigation by Radio Katwe has learnt that the procurement of the INMS, which is expected to also deal with this, was for years kept off the table because of an intense fight between Uganda's major procurement brokers over who gets the deal. The process moved recently when President Museveni intervened.

Procurement of the technology started in the early 2000s. At the time, different companies were being pushed by different brokers in cabinet. Sam Kutesa, the current Foreign Affairs Minister was pushing for one of the companies, one of the president's son-in-laws, another. There were other brokers who were backing Nytex, a Belgian company and another Lebanese company.

Former Presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi, who was Security Minister in 2006, also got involved at some point and reportedly blocked the procurement saying it had a security dimension. Others claim he had taken the deal off Kutesa's table.

The deal was revived and gained serious momentum when Aggrey Awori was the Minister in charge of Information and Communication Technology.

The closest the deal came to getting concluded was under spy-turned businessman, Abu Mukasa. Abu Mukasa used to work for the External Security Organisation (ESO) but with the right god fathers, he became a big time broker.

He was at one point an aide de camp to Justice Minister Kahinda Otafiire and later switched camps and got closer to Mbabazi. Mukasa, who had cofounded Hits telecom, which was later sold to Orange, making him Orange's first Ugandan director, brought a company to procure the technology. The company known as GlobalVoice, was founded by former Haiti President- Laurent Lamothe.

Under this company, Mukasa had pitched to run the technology in the arrangement of Build Operate and Transfer (BoT) because the government at the time didn't readily have the money to procure it.

However, the deal went off the table because there are some documents that were missing. Some say it was fought by competitors. That round of procurement collapsed. Radio Katwe could not confirm whether Abu Mukasa was going to use China's ZTE as the supplier of the technology but we understand that ZTE emerged the best bidder in the last round of procurement.

On February 25, 2014, UCC advertised a tender for the procurement under reference No: UCC/ SRVCS/13-14/00389. Eng. Godfrey Mutabazi came with his own pitch of an upgraded capacity system that would cost a staggering $120 million (about Shs400 billion), he told Museveni. Police chief Kale Kayihura had also offered to have the technology procured under classified expenditure.

But when Museveni heard of the bill tabled by Mutabazi, he discretely directed his spies to do due diligence. Some went to Israel. At most, Museveni was told that the system could cost $ 30 million but it could be got at even $20 million. This sparked off a fall out between Mutabazi and Museveni. Museveni was enraged that Mutabazi had inflated the cost. As a result, UCC was kicked off the procurement process.

Museveni at some point also consulted with Peter Kahiji, the director technical services of IT sector regulator, NITA-U. Finally, Museveni brought on board Josephine Wapakhabulo, the daughter to the late James Wapakhabulo, who was Uganda's speaker, foreign affairs minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

With State House sponsorship, Josephine had secured a Phd in Information Science from Loughborough University in the UK. She holds a degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering, a Masters in Information Technology and some of her papers have published in reputable scientific journals. She previously worked with carmaker Rolls Royce.

Details of her terms remain scanty but Radio Katwe can report that she is also being considered as the feature boss of Uganda's National Oil Company. She was shortlisted among the top four for the job.

With Josephine on board, the procurement of the technology, seems to be just a stroke of a pen away. By press time she was outside the country,but Radio Katwe has learnt those involved had zeroed on about four companies and are close to picking a winner.

Radio Katwe could not establish the extent of involvement of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) in vetting this deal. State House often bypasses PPDA legal mandate when engaging in so-called "classified expenditure".

Should the procurement succeed this time, insiders say, the technology might bring the country closer to dealing with a telecom fraud known as voice traffic termination fraud or SIM - box fraud, which costs telecom companies revenue and the government taxes.

International studies have indicated that network operators lose about 3% of the annual revenue due to fraudulent and illegal services. The biggest operator, MTN, last year suffered a huge decline in profits but still managed to rake in Shs177 billion profit.

A 3% loss of that to SIMbox operators amounts to about Shs5.5billion. The Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA), states that telecoms lose over 15 per cent of their interconnection termination revenue through SIM boxing.

Some researchers put the total global losses from the underground mobile network industry to be $58 billion in 2011.

How it works

If you have ever received a call from a person who says they are abroad yet the number they are using to call you is local, then you have interacted with a SIMbox operation.

At the centre of the operation is a SIMbox or SIM bank, which holds several Simcards and is part of a Voice of Internet Protocol (VoIP). When used fraudulently, it enables costly international calls to be routed as cheaper local calls.

The technology terminates international calls through local phone numbers such as MTN, Warid, UTL, or whatever and make the calls appear as local. Apparently, fraudulent SIMboxes hijack international voice calls and transfer them over the Internet to a cellular device, which injects them back into the cellular network.

As a result, the calls become local at the destination local network and the cellular operators of the intermediate and destination networks do not receive payments for the call routing and termination.

Experts say that a fraudster can operate thousands of SIM cards from different SIM boxes through one server. The calls, they explain, are sent through the Internet to a SIM box-- that houses ten to 30 illegal SIM cards-- which redirects the illegal Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) traffic to mobile networks.

The major players in this under - ground telecom business are mainly two--those based in the terminating country and the illegal international carriers from across the border.

Besides causing the financial loss, an international study shows that SIM - boxes degrade the local service where they operate. Often, cells are overloaded, and voice calls routed over a SIMbox have poor quality, which results in customer dissatisfaction, the study adds.

In Uganda, Radio Katwe has learnt that the kingpins of the fraudulent trade also happen to be major players in the telecom sector, senior officials in cabinet and some Chinese dealers. Radio Katwe, for now, cannot name these individuals for legal reasons.

One might wonder why an individual with a stake in a telecom company would want to operate a SIMbox which effectively harms the big company. The answer is simple; SIMbox operators make a lot of money.

The SIMboxes , apart from the initial capital injection, there are literally no expenses, no taxes at all since it is an underground business. An owner of a SIMbox can earn up to $10,000 dollars a day (Approx.Shs33 million) from just one simbox, those with knowledge on the dark industry say. That is about US$ 3.6 million a year per SIMbox. Operators usually run several and rake in several million dollars. But as simbox operators make these millions, registered operators and government are the major losers.

Besigye To Form Parallel Gov't

Dr Kizza Besigye has insisted on forming a parallel government on the same day of Dictator Museveni’s swearing-in ceremony.

“On the 12/05/2016, we shall establish leadership of our country as mandated- a transitional government of national unity,” said Dr Besigye in a statement issued Tuesday.

He said the opposition parallel leadership will “restore to the people of Uganda, the control of our national resources and our national institutions,” adding, “The people of Uganda are entitled to share our national resources equitably and to enjoy equal opportunities.”

The launch of the People’s Government will take place in the Capital City of Kampala, led by the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, according to Dr Besigye.

It remains unclear how Besigye’s new government will be inaugurated considering that his residence and that of Lukwago remain under a police cordon.

Since it’s clear that the path to amicably and conclusively establish the outcome of the 2016 elections has been ignored, we have no choice but to do what the people of Uganda mandated us to do,” charged Besigye.

Besigye Tables Election Fraud Evidence

With only hours to the swearing in of Dictator Museveni, who was handed the fifth term in office last February by the fraudulent and corrupt Electoral Commission, FDC's Col. Dr Kizza Besigye has taken to social media and spilled what he calls convincing statistical evidence that the election was gravely interfered with in favor of the incumbent.

Besigye claims he won the presidential election with 52% but was declared runner up by the Independent Electoral Commission under Chairman Eng. Badru Kiggundu, with a minor 35%.

The opposition FDC candidate is pushing for an internationally steered independent audit of the results of the February elections, which government has declined citing national sovereignty.

In a series of tweets on Tuesday morning, Besigye unveiled what appears to be his party-sponsored expert analysis of the election process and results, indicating a number of loopholes.

The evidence he said, shows that substantial election fraud occurred and it changed the outcome of the polls, having been subjected by the experts to four different tests.

The first test on the tallies, he says, captured patterns in vote entry, which could only prove human interference in the tallying.

“When humans make up ‘random’ numbers (for instance by entering false tallies), patterns emerge. People tend to choose numbers with higher digits,” he tweeted.

“The February 2016 tallies have too many 4, 5, 6s, and not enough 0s and 1s. This indicates human interference not expected in fair election. The probability of observing these differences in a fair election is extremely small (only 2 in 100,000).

He added, “Patterns of the last digit in polling station tallies by district also tell a story – a uniform pattern of all digits is expected. A simple but powerful test showed 4 times expected number of districts had “suspicious” patterns – EVIDENCE of fraud.”

Meanwhile another test Besigye says, captured loopholes in the fingerprints, creating a picture of electoral fraud by examining voter turnout.  Most fingerprints he says were found to me rather “smeared” than stuck on the papers.

Besigye also tables “incremental evidence” which calls into question the validity of over 3million votes – a massive margin enough to change the outcome of the election.

The  FDC findings show that the 2016 elections was fraudulent with 68% of the districts affected by incremental fraud and the nature of the fraud being driven by “vote manufacturing,” more than stealing from the opposition.

He says, “It is likely that vote manipulation was sufficient enough to swing the result of the election with more than two thirds of the districts affected.

“These tests together with other evidence – intimidation, teargas, violence, national ID registry – cast serious doubt on the election. “

Most of Besigye’s points about the shortfalls in the 2016 election were raised before the Supreme Court by his fellow contender Amama Mbabazi, but the 9 judges unanimously agreed that the evidence was insufficient to warrant cancelation of results.

Besigye believes this was expected of the court: “We live under dictatorship: judges and courts serve at the will of the state. History shows that the Supreme Court is very reluctant to rule against President Museveni. In 2001 and 2006 election petitions, the Supreme Court judges publically acknowledged extensive fraud but did NOT nullify the election.”

Besigye remains insistent on an international audit of the February election results as was the case Kosovo, Afghanistan and Haiti.

“If Mr. Museveni legitimately and irrefutably won this election, then why would he not support an audit?,” he wondered.

Uganda Needs Change - EU Envoy

The European Union (EU) Ambassador in Uganda Kristian Schmidt has made a call to the Ugandan government to work closely with the opposition to ensure they serve the national interests.

He further spoke against the consistent violation of individual and constitutional rights by the state calling for reforms.

Ambassador Schmidt made these comments Monday evening during the commemoration of the Europe Day at his residence in Kampala.

“If you want improved governance, better service delivery, victory over corruption, and free and fair elections, you should consider reforms. Even if you just want steady progress, change is still needed. We think, like the rest of the world, to preserve legacy, to ensure peace and stability, to build the future, things have to change,” said Schmidt.

“Curbing media freedoms, deploying security forces or resorting to courts to solve political differences may not be the solution. As your partner and friend, we worry when we see the freedoms, guaranteed by the constitution coming under pressure currently,” the EU Ambassador added.

The remarks come against the backdrop of a government’s warning that foreigners must not interfere in Uganda’s internal affairs.

He stressed that there’s need for change in Uganda to facilitate better democratic practices, good governance and service delivery.

The duty to protect national interests, he said lies not only on government but the unified effort of all political actors as well as civil society.

“We hope Uganda’s leaders, political parties and civil society will come together and agree to put Ugandan national interests first. After all campaign mottos; ‘Stead progress’, ‘Go Forward’ and ‘One Uganda One people’ advanced a better Uganda for all.”

During the celebrations for his victory in the February general elections, Dictator Museveni sounded a warning to Western countries that meddle in the affairs of Uganda saying “Uganda doesn’t need lectures on how to be run”.

The EU Ambassador said Europe harbours no imperialist agenda but rather believes in multilateralism.

Opposition Leaders held Or Missing Ahead Of Swearing in Ceremony

More Opposition leaders were yesterday arrested as security forces increased a crackdown on political dissent ahead of Mr Museveni’s May 12 swearing-in.

Police raided FDC offices for the third time since the February 18 polls, arresting the party’s deputy secretary general for administration Harold Kaija.

Mr Kaija had just finished addressing the FDC weekly media briefing when about 20 policemen commanded by Kampala Metropolitan Police south regional commander Andrew Kaggwa moved in and began searching the media briefing and other rooms.

Several other items, including a laptop were confiscated by police ‘detectives’ Musa Walugembe and Albert Muhumuza, who manned the search.

“As a police officer, I have the mandate to move in when an offence is about to be committed. We suspected there were seditious materials in there[FDC offices] and we picked some of them,” Mr Kaggwa said.

The house detention of former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye and Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago at their respective homes in Kasangati and Rubaga, which started on May 5, also continued with police restricting visitors and journalists.

Also, homes of leaders such as FDC spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda in Kira Municipality and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament in Kampala were surrounded by heavily armed policemen.

At Mr Ssemujju’s home, a police patrol pick-up was packed at the gate of his house with the operatives manning it preventing any access by journalists and visitors.

A plain-clothed stick-wielding man identified as Barnett Tusiime threatened, in the presence of senior police commanders including Mr Bosco Sserunjogi, the DPC Kira Division, to beat up journalists if they did not leave the premises immediately

Mr Sserunjogi said his men were keeping vigil at Mr Ssemujju’s home to “allow the honourable have some rest as he prepares for his voters”.

But in a telephone interview, Mr Ssemujju said: “The police are not saying anything.”

More than 150 Opposition supporters and officials are either in detention or missing, according to FDC officials since the party called for countrywide protests ahead of the May 12 presidential inauguration.

FDC asserts that their candidate Dr Besigye who they claim won the elections by 52 per cent, will be sworn in on May 12 as president.

Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango declined to comment on the specifics of the crackdown referring the matter to IGP Kale Kayihura.

Gen Kayihura confirmed the whereabouts of FDC secretary for mobilisation Ingrid Turinawe after security operatives arrested her on Sunday at Gayaza Trading Centre. She has not been seen since then.

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga had earlier denied police holding Ms Turinawe in their custody. 
However, Gen Kayihura in a briefing yesterday, said the Force was holding Ms Turinawe because “we have evidence she is involved in a number of crimes.”

Background to the arrests 
IGP Kale Kayihura has on several occasions warned Dr Besigye and other party officials against their defiance campaign ahead of President Museveni’s swearing in slated for May 12.

Government last week came out and issued a ban on “all live broadcasts of the activities of the ‘defiance’- related campaigns by Dr Besigye and his agents. The warning followed Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma ban on all defiance-related activities.

blocking FDC or any of the party’s agents against organising any procession or carrying on with the defiance campaign pending determination of a Constitutional case filed by government.

Dr Besigye has also been saying Mr Museveni’s fifth coming term in office is neither legal nor legitimate without an independent audit of the February 18 polls.

Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma who issued the order exparte said it shall remain in force four months, a time in which the main application would be heard.

Mwenda Joined Dictatorship - Byanyima

A war of words erupted Friday evening through Saturday, between FDC’s four-time Presidential candidate Col Kizza Besigye’s wife Mrs. Winnie Byanyima and senior journalist Andrew Mwenda, with each attacking the other’s stature on democracy and rule of law.

The bitter exchange over social media broke out when Mwenda first picked on Winnie, after she was stopped and searched by police at her Kasangati house upon arrival from the UK.

The police are watching her husband Dr Besigye, to prevent him from leading FDC activities related to the banned ‘defiance campaign.’

Mwenda thought Winnie had just tasted her own medicine, having worked for and defended the same NRM government back in the day.

He mocked, “Winnie Byanyima and her husband Kizza Besigye with Museveni claimed such police behavior was personal to Obote. Now the two claim its personal to Museveni”

Accusing the journalist of dishonesty, the Oxfam international boss shot right back, reminding him that her record on human rights is in the Constituent Assembly and Parliament’s Hansard for all to see.

She went to accuse Mwenda, a former strong government critique of “selling his soul” to turn around and back the same “dictatorship,” that he condemned.

“You were with us in challenging a growing dictatorship till you joined the dictatorship,” she said.

Mwenda, who up to the late 2000s made an international name for his scathing and daring assaults on Government, President Museveni and his family; has often times been accused of being “bought off” by the regime to silence him.

“If the Mwenda of the 2000s met the Mwenda of today, the two would fight,” is a common reaction to his currently much more flattering observations on the NRM government.

Mwenda however, denies being bought or joining the 30year regime. He says he only recognizes the progress the NRM government has made over the years.

“Whatever its imperfections today, NRM is much more democratic than when you supported it,” he attacked Byanyima. “So why did you leave now?”

He added, “And your accusation that I joined the dictatorship is cheap talk. When did I join it? What actions prove that?”

The Independent Magazine proprietor says Byanyima lacks the moral ground to attack the NRM government which was much worse when she was part of it.

“In 1986 when you were an NRM die hard, it was a government that was not elected but had used violence to grab power. You were a strong supporter of NRM when it was killing people in Mukura, Acholi etc., and blocking political party activities,” he charged.

But Winnie was on the defensive, “I wasn’t a ‘strong supporter’ I was critical; on record challenging NRA cattle theft in Teso. Check Hansard!”

“I led fierce anti-corruption battles against NRM through 90s till I left. Mwenda u can’t change history. I criticized NRM publicly, was fired for speaking up on human rights violations. You defend dictatorship.”

Winnie Byanyima Calls For National Prayers

Wife of FDC’s Col Dr Kizza Besigye, Mrs Winnie Karagwa Byanyima has called for nationwide public prayers on Monday afternoon. The prayers are supposedly for husband’s release from his home detention as the well as the future of the country.

Byanyima arrived in the country from the UK, where she is working as the Executive Director Oxfam International. She was however welcomed by water tight security at her Kasangati residence, where “menacing faced” police officers demanded to screen her before being allowed in.

Yesterday when she set out for Sunday prayers at Christ the King in Kampala, she was also subjected to a thorough check against her will by the police officers.

In the evening, Byanyima issued a public appeal to all Ugandans to gather this afternoon to pray for the future of the country and for her husband’s release from detention.

“Let’s all go on our knees and pray for our country. Many are under siege not only Kizza Besigye,” she said.

She urged FDC supporters in Kampala to attend services at Church of the Resurrection Bugolobi, Kamwokya Church of God, Nakasero Mosque or Kibuli Mosque.

“All faiths and denominations are welcome at all locations. This is a time for all Ugandans to dedicate themselves to one another and to the collective betterment of our country.”

Those outside Kampala were asked to join with friends and neighbors in fellowship “at any convenient place, public or private, at the noon hour.”

The call comes on the heels of a recent court ban of all FDC activities related to its “defiance campaign,” for which her husband Dr Kizza Besigye, Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and several other opposition leaders are being detained at their homes.

FDC: Ingrid Turinawe Still Missing

FDC's Ingrid Turinawe is said to have been abducted from Kyetume in Gayaza, Wakiso District on Sunday.

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga could not comment on Turinawe’s whereabouts.

This comes after police put several opposition leaders under preventive arrest on grounds.

Opposition chief Dr Kizza Besigye last week called for a revolution until an ‘international audit’ of the 2016 election results is completed.

“Lady Ingrid Turinawe was abducted last night and her whereabouts are still unknown,” said FDC honcho Wafula Oguttu.

“Ingrid Turinawe, Head of Mobilisation. We last heard of her when she was surrounded by military police in Gayaza trading centre,” FDC said in a brief statement.