EU Diplomats Meet NUP Leaders over Human Rights

The European Union (EU) delegation in Uganda, led by Ambassador Jan Sadek, has held a meeting with the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) about the state of human rights in the country and the forthcoming 2026 general elections.

The meeting, which took place at NUP headquarters in Makerere Kavule on Monday, was part of a series of meetings that the EU in Uganda is pursuing with all the political parties.

The meeting was attended by the NUP top leadership, led by party president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, aka Bobi Wine; Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi; Secretary General Lewis Rubongoya; Opposition Chief Whip John Baptist Nambeshe; and others.

The EU delegation was led by the bloc’s ambassador to Uganda, Jan Sadek, who was accompanied by other European diplomats.

Speaking to reporters after the engagement, Bobi Wine said that the Western diplomats were challenged to speak up against human rights violations and “oppression” in Uganda.

“We raised the issue of human rights. We took the opportunity to also raise our concerns about the seeming hobnobbing of the diplomats with a clearly brutal person, that is, General Museveni’s son, and we expressed our concern that the people of Uganda tend to view it as a support for their oppression,” Bobi Wine said.

The meeting occurred at a time when various NUP supporters are languishing in jail on various charges, which the party says are fabricated with the aim to instill fear and weaken the opposition.

The latest NUP supporter to be arrested is Bobi Wine’s civilian bodyguard, Edward Ssebuufu, alias Eddy Mutwe.

Eddy Mutwe was arrested in Mukono district last month and put under military detention before he was produced in court in Masaka district more than a week later and charged with offenses related to robbery.

Mutwe was tortured while in detention and could hardly walk on his own when he was produced in court.

Bobi Wine said that he asked the EU governments to speak up against the arrest and torture of opposition forces.

“I took the opportunity to also raise the plight of our brother, Eddie Mutwe, who is rotting away in jail, and I mentioned that it would go a long way to helping him out if the voice of the development partners is raised to save his life and ensure that he gets urgent, specialized treatment,” he said.

It is noteworthy that the EU in Uganda has held similar meetings with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.

The meetings come at a time when the country is gearing up for the 2026 general elections, which many observers fear will be violent.

The EU’s top diplomat in Uganda said that meeting stakeholders, including political parties, is vital for fair elections and democracy.

“We have met with NRM; now we are meeting with NUP, and we will proceed also with the other political parties. And why are we doing this? Well, because this is an important year. Uganda is heading for elections next year in 2026. It’s an incredibly important process for the democracy in the country. We expect more Ugandans to take greater interest in this, and so do we as diplomats and observers, active observers here in your country. We follow very closely what is happening in the country this year,” Sadek said.

Since the 2021 general elections, which were extremely violent, the following by-elections have as well been marred by violence and abuse of human rights, especially by the security forces on the opposition supporters.

This was also witnessed in the most recent by-election of Member of Parliament for Kawempe North, where security forces did not only terrorize opposition supporters but also journalists.

Sadek said that the EU diplomats expressed concern about violence in elections and actions of the security forces against team members and supporters of the NUP.

“This does not seem to point to a level playing field, which is so important in a democracy that is having elections. We appeal to all political forces in the country to respect the ideas of democracy and pursue these elections in a calm way to achieve fair and credible election results,” he said.