KAMPALA — Ugandan opposition lawmaker Muwanga Kivumbi has alleged that 10 people were killed inside his home in Butambala District during a late-night security operation following Uganda’s general election, deepening concerns over violence and human rights abuses in the tense post-poll period.
Kivumbi, a member of parliament with the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), said the killings occurred at around 3 a.m. as supporters and election agents gathered at his residence awaiting the announcement of results for his parliamentary seat. He told journalists that security forces broke into his compound and opened fire inside a garage where people had taken shelter.
“They killed 10 people inside my house,” Kivumbi said, describing the incident as a massacre. He said the victims were unarmed supporters who had assembled peacefully to follow the vote tally. According to Kivumbi, several bodies were later taken away by security personnel, and others were confirmed dead at a nearby hospital.
Police have issued a sharply different account. A local police spokesperson said opposition supporters armed with machetes attacked a nearby police station and a vote-tallying centre, prompting security forces to respond in what she described as self-defence. Police said arrests were made but did not confirm the number of fatalities at Kivumbi’s residence, adding that they were not aware of an incident inside his house.
The violence in Butambala came as President Yoweri Museveni moved toward another term in office after elections held under an internet blackout and amid allegations of intimidation and repression raised by opposition parties and rights groups. The conflicting accounts of what happened at Kivumbi’s home have not been independently verified, and restricted communications have made confirmation difficult.
The incident has intensified scrutiny of Uganda’s security forces and raised fresh questions about accountability as the country navigates a highly charged political moment following the election.
