The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has resolved to petition court to lift the house arrest and all unlawful restrictions imposed on former presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine.
The resolution follows a raid on the former MP’s home and the alleged assault of his wife, Barbie Itungo Kyagulanyi, barely ten days after Kyagulanyi lost the presidential election.
“Following consultations with Kyagulanyi and her legal team, it has been confirmed that armed intruders broke into her Magere residence, assaulted her, and demanded information about her husband’s whereabouts. Assorted documents and property were seized, and she suffered both physical injuries and psychological trauma, necessitating hospitalization,” Anthony Asiimwe, the Vice president of ULS said in a statement.
The society described the attack—allegedly carried out by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces under police supervision—as an egregious abuse of state power that violated fundamental rights to liberty, security, dignity, and privacy.
“It is a deliberate attempt to intimidate and silence the political opposition, or to provoke civil unrest, particularly in light of the disputed election and the ongoing wave of detentions, torture, and enforced disappearances of National Unity Platform (NUP) leaders and supporters across the country,” he said.
ULS rejected what it termed the militarized suppression of political opposition and the provocation of peaceful civilians, noting that no individual should be subjected to violence by security forces under the pretext of national security.
The society pledged to launch an independent investigation, including the collection of forensic evidence, with the aim of filing both civil and criminal complaints against identified perpetrators and their superiors for torture, unlawful search and seizure, and other human rights violations.
The ULS Council said it is also exploring both domestic and international prosecution options, citing numerous requests for such action.
“ULS will convene a national stakeholders’ dialogue to examine systemic repression, enforced disappearances, and political persecution, with the aim of holding the government accountable and charting a path forward,” he said.
