KAMPALA.Mounting pressure from all spheres of life has forced the powerful Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba to release former Kampala Lord Mayor and lawyer Erias Lukwago .
Lukwago,56 who serves as acting president of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), was seized from his Wakaliga residence in Kampala on Monday by armed men in military uniform who took him to unknown destination .Some hours later Gen Muhoozi,as he usually does went to his X and confirmed that he is the one with him in the basement learning Kiswahili.
Speaking to this publication on Wednesday , Police spokesperson Kituma Rusoke revealed that Lukwago had been dumped at Kira Police Station .
“Initially I did not have information about his whereabouts, but now I have information that he is now at our Kira Police Station,” he said
Lukwago’s abduction had already triggered a 24-hour ultimatum from the Uganda Law Society where he is a member and plans for a nationwide lawyers’ strike later this month. In a statement issued from Arusha, Tanzania, on Monday, the regional lawyers’ body East Africa Law Society expressed “grave concern” over the reported abduction and detention of Lukwago, a senior advocate and member of both the Uganda Law Society (ULS) and the East Africa Law Society
“EALS expresses grave concern over the reported forcible removal and apparent detention of Hon. Erias Lukwago by military personnel,” the statement signed by EALS President Ramadhan Abubakar said
The regional body said Lukwago’s detention represents an escalation of concerns it had previously raised about the independence of the legal profession, fair trial rights and constitutional governance in Uganda.
Lukwago’s abduction sparked outrage after Gen Muhoozi posted a series of social media messages appearing to know his whereabouts .
He later shared photographs and videos purportedly showing Lukwago in custody, including images in which the opposition lawyer appeared blindfolded and sitting in a bathroom- like room
Lukwago is lead counsel for opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye and Hajj Obeid Lutale in ongoing legal proceedings before the High Court.
His abduction came days after the High Court in Kampala ordered Gen Muhoozi and other respondents to file a defence in a human rights enforcement suit filed by Besigye and Lutale. The petition challenges alleged threats made by the CDF against Besigye and the circumstances surrounding Besigye’s arrest in Nairobi and subsequent transfer to Uganda in 2024.