Kyagulanyi Promises End to NRM Cancer of Political Persecution and Detention

Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, the National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate, has pledged to release Retired Colonel Dr. Kizza Besigye, Obeid Lutaale, and other political prisoners if elected president. 

Kyagulanyi made the promise on Monday while campaigning for the presidency at Nyeikunama Primary School playground in Muhanga Town Council, Rukiga District, and later at Kabale Municipal Stadium in Kabale District.

Besigye and Lutaale are currently remanded at Luzira Prison on charges of treachery and unlawful possession of firearms. Prosecution alleges that between February 2023 and November 2024, the two held meetings in Geneva, Athens, and Nairobi, where they reportedly sought logistical support and identified military targets in Uganda to undermine the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

However, Kyagulanyi dismissed the allegations, claiming that both Besigye and Lutaale were illegally arrested in Nairobi, repatriated, and charged on fabricated grounds. He said Eddie Ssebuwufu, alias Eddie Mutwe, is among many Ugandans languishing in prison over politically motivated cases.

Kyagulanyi accused President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of using arrests and fabricated charges to silence critics, saying the regime operates out of fear. He vowed to free all political prisoners, emphasizing that his government would uphold equality and justice for all Ugandans.

Kyagulanyi also questioned why Kabale has not been elevated to city status and why Kigezi lacks an airport to facilitate tourism, despite over 40 years of NRM leadership and the region’s rich tourism potential.

He further accused Peace Rugambwa, the Senior Presidential Advisor on Agriculture, and some local leaders of sabotaging his campaign in Kabale by allegedly confining boda boda riders, sex workers, and ghetto youth at the Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education (UNITE)—formerly National Teachers’ College Kabale—where they were reportedly given food and told not to attend his rally. 

On Tuesday, Kyagulanyi is expected to campaign in Rubanda and Kisoro districts. Meanwhile, his campaign trail in Rukiga faced a temporary setback when police impounded a truck carrying his music system at Nyakigugwa in Kaharo Sub-county. 

Kyagulanyi was forced to drive back to Bukinda Trading Centre after an exchange of words with police officers, who later released the truck. In Kabale Town, security forces—comprising police and army—blocked several key routes including Kabale–Katuna Road, Kabale Main Street, and Bwankosa Road near Christ the King Catholic Church, limiting Kyagulanyi’s convoy movements before and after the rally.