The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) Spokesperson, Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye, has said there are persistent attempts by some political opposition groups to blackmail and demonize the government using false allegations of torture by security agencies.
Kulayigye noted that these elements have embarked on a deliberate campaign to malign the government and attempted to isolate it at Regional and International fora, as well as among the development partners using the usual rhetoric of human rights abuses and socio-economic challenges.
He said that these evil schemes continue to be propagated through the mainstream and social media platforms and agitations for civil disobedience including the so-called “Kunga and Tulumbe Campaigns”.
“These groups particularly the National Unity Platform (NUP) have over time made it a norm to parade people with bodily defects occasioned by normal accidents to masquerade as victims of torture inflicted on them by security personnel,” he said.
Using an example of one Mwesigwa Eric, who, on February 13, 2023, was paraded before the media by National Unity Platform (NUP) President, Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, at NUP offices in Kamwokya, claiming that he was tortured and burnt on his chest using a flat iron by security operatives.
To the contrary, Kulayigye noted, it has since been established that Mwesigwa was lured into a deal by NUP and the wounds were inflicted on him by the same group after promising him monetary gains treatment with the sole purpose of maligning the Government.
“Unfortunately, NUP abandoned him with his wounds without treatment and pay,” the Defence spokesperson said, adding that the government is providing medical and psycho-socio support to Mwesigwa for a full recovery.
He said added that on November 17, 2022, over 100 NUP elements were paraded as “torture victims” at the Uganda Human Rights Accountability conference at Ufungamano House in Nairobi, Kenya.
According to Kulayigye, it was later established that many of the paraded individuals were victims of normal accidents occasioned by boda-bodas and other incidents.
“They included among others Ssebuganda Richard, who lost his hand in a student’s strike at Makerere University in 2020 and Kamuswaga Moses who was injured trying to detonate a tear gas canister in 2012,” he said.
Kulaigye called upon both the local and international media to always resist lending credence to perpetual NUP lies aimed at maligning the government for political gain.
However, in his response, the National Unity Platform President, Bobi Wine, said the government is playing propaganda.
“Same old tricks. Same ridiculousness. Mwesigwa Eric has been complaining of being trailed ever since he spoke about his torture. Today, from an army barracks, they parade him to claim it’s NUP that tortured him!” Bobi Wine tweeted.
