Kiiza Besigye Condemns Arrest of NUP Legislator Kivumbi as “Dirty Script” to Criminalise Opposition Critics
Former Leader of Opposition Winnie Kiiza has strongly condemned the arrest of Butambala County legislator Muwanga Kivumbi, describing it as part of a long-running strategy to criminalise and isolate critics of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s government.
In a sharply worded statement, Kiiza said Kivumbi’s arrest followed a familiar pattern in which opposition figures are first portrayed as enemies of the public, then targeted through security operations and media narratives before being detained on what she called fabricated charges.
“The arrest of Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi is a repeat of a dirty script targeting solid regime critics,” Kiiza said.
“They paint you as an enemy of your people, attack them, then spin the narrative through the media until it’s believable — all aimed at isolating you by denying you public support.”
“All this is an effort to eliminate regime critics under the guise of ‘protecting the people’,” she said, adding that similar tactics had previously been deployed in Kasese, Kampala and Masaka.
“Hon. Kivumbi isn’t a criminal. He is another target of the state’s dirty politics.”
Kivumbi, the incumbent MP and vice president for Buganda of the National Unity Platform (NUP), was arrested early Thursday morning.
Police later confirmed that he is in custody and will be arraigned in court in connection with what they described as “recent incidents of political violence” in Butambala.
“The Uganda Police Force would like to confirm the arrest of the Butambala County legislator, Hon. Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi. He is currently in police custody and will be arraigned before court in due course,” police said in a statement.
Kivumbi’s arrest follows deadly election-related violence in Butambala, where several people were killed under disputed circumstances.
On Sunday, Museveni addressed the incident while receiving the official declaration of presidential election results at Rwakitura, accusing opposition-linked groups of orchestrating attacks after losing at the polls.
Museveni alleged that armed gangs attempted to storm a polling station following Kivumbi’s defeat, prompting a security response in which seven people were shot dead.
Kivumbi has rejected that account. Speaking earlier, before his arrest, he said security forces raided his home at night while vote tallying was ongoing and shot dead members of his campaign team inside his residence.
He said video footage recorded the following morning showed bullet holes in doors and walls, and insisted he was the target of the operation.
Police have disputed his claims. Katonga region police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said officers were responding to violent incidents earlier in the day, including alleged attacks on a tally centre and a police station by opposition supporters. Police maintain that seven people were killed.
According to official results, Kivumbi lost the Butambala County parliamentary race to journalist Eriasa Mukiibi.
Kiiza’s intervention adds to growing opposition pressure for an independent investigation into the killings and Kivumbi’s arrest, as political tensions remain high in the aftermath of the elections.
