NUP Deputy President Jolly Jacklyn Tukamushaba Charged with Incitement to Violence

The National Unity Platform (NUP) Deputy President for Western Uganda, Jolly Jacklyn Tukamushaba, has been produced before the court in Kabale and formally charged with incitement to violence. 

Tukamushaba was presented before the court as the state simultaneously faced a pending application challenging her continued disappearance and illegal detention. Her production comes after the High Court ordered security agencies, particularly the police, to account for her whereabouts. 

According to the charge sheet filed by Uganda Police at Kigezi Police Station, Tukamushaba, 50, was charged with Incitement to Violence, contrary to Section 79(1) of the Penal Code Act, Cap 128. 

The prosecution alleges that in December 2025 and January 2026, at various locations in Western Uganda, including Rukiga, Kabale, and Rukungiri, Tukamushaba incited people to commit acts of violence against supporters of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), on account of their political opinion. But the NUP has dismissed the charge as politically motivated and baseless. 

NUP Secretary General David Lewis Lubongoya said the accusation does not reflect Tukamushaba’s conduct or political history. “Everyone who knows her knows this is a bogus charge. She has never told anyone to attack supporters of the NRM,” Lubongoya said. 

The development follows a directive by the High Court in Kampala, issued last week by Justice Joyce Kavuma, ordering the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to clarify whether police were holding Tukamushaba. The directive came after only three of the four respondents in the habeas corpus application filed responses. 

Those who responded, the Attorney General, the Chief of Defence Forces, and the Commander of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security, through an affidavit sworn by Lt. Col. Edgar Musasizi, denied any knowledge of Tukamushaba’s detention and said she was not in military custody. The court noted, however, that the IGP had not filed any response, prompting Justice Kavuma to order the police to account for her whereabouts before the court could determine the application. The ruling is expected on February 6, 2026. 

Tukamushaba’s lawyers state that she went missing on January 14, 2026, a day before polling, after armed operatives dressed in UPDF uniforms allegedly abducted her from a hotel in Muhanga Town, Rukiga District, and drove her away in a Toyota Hiace, commonly known as a “drone.” Since then, she had reportedly been held incommunicado without access to her family, lawyers, or court. Her sudden appearance before the court, now facing criminal charges, has raised fresh political questions, particularly given earlier sworn statements by state actors denying any custody of her. 

Tukamushaba is among at least three NUP deputy presidents reportedly arrested before and after the January 15, 2026,  general elections, alongside Dr Lina Zedriga, who appeared before the Chief Magistrates Court in Gulu early Today and Muwanga Kivumbi, who is facing terrorism charges.