KAMPALA.Former Kampala City Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, who is also the opposition People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) president, was kidnapped from his bedroom by armed soldiers who forced their way into his Wakaliga residence on Monday morning, his wife has revealed
A visibly terrified Zawedde Lukwago, said the surrounding of their homme started shortly after breakfast when armed men she identified as soldiers gained access to the family residence.
“He[Lukwago] had just finished having breakfast. We were alerted that some soldiers had unlawfully gained access to our premises. We heard the soldiers cut the wire over our fence,” she said.
She added: “They knocked gently on our door and we thought it was our children. I saw they were many soldiers in SFC uniforms. One of them was not in uniform and I think he was the commander.”
A handout picture shared on social media via the account of Uganda’s military chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba shows a man appearing to be Lukwago moments after he was seized from his home in Kampala on June 15, 2026.
Zawedde said she attempted to stop the men from entering the bedroom but was defeated.
“I tried to resist and he [the one who was not in uniform] twisted my arm before he kicked and fouled me to the ground,” she said.
According to her account, the soldiers then “forced their way into the bedroom and arrested Lukwago, asking him to surrender his phone, which he did.”
“They looked around and found nothing because we don’t even have any scary weapons like a gun in this house,” she narrated.
Questioning the manner of the operation, the twin mother said Lukwago would have responded to any lawful summons.
“He’s a respected figure and a lawyer in Uganda and he’d have heeded to summons if at all they needed him. Nothing justifies scaling our walls to kidnap him,” Zawedde argued, noting that the incident reminded her of Uganda’s darker political periods.
“We’re now witnessing Amin-like days that we’ve only been reading about in history. The Amin era is being regenerated by Gen Muhoozi. It is really bad. If Gen Muhoozi thinks he will rule us like this after his father Museveni, we’re already saying no,” she remarked.
What next?
The circumstances surrounding Lukwago’s detention remained unclear by 2pm Monday, and authorities had not announced any charges against him.
Lukwago’s lawyer, Medard Lubega Ssegona, described the operation as unlawful and said the legal team would report a kidnapping case to police.
“He has been kidnapped by lawbreakers. I predict that they will try to trump up a case against him now,” Ssegona said, adding: “I caution Museveni and his son that they’re sowing more hatred within the family and among Ugandans.”
Ssegona questioned why authorities had not used established legal procedures.
“What does Museveni or Gen Muhoozi have to lose if he issues summons or detains him in accordance with the law?” he asked.
“No one is safe in Uganda until all of us are safe. They grabbed him and frogged him in front of his wife and children. They disappeared with Lukwago and only told the wife that he’d call her. Under the law, these soldiers are not supposed to detain anyone…not even for a minute. But as we’ve seen in the past, they’ve been kidnapping people,” Ssegona observed before he urged the government to change course.
“We want to appeal to government to sober up and do what civilized people do,” he remarked.
‘I will HANG Kizza Besigye’
Referring to a barrage of social media posts by Uganda’s military chief and First Son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Ssegona said the family was deeply concerned about growing rights violations in Uganda.
“We treat this as a case of kidnap with intent to murder. We’re following up this and going to police to report a case of kidnap as we wait to see how things unfold. The seeds of hatred that are being planted may sprout one day and Uganda will not be happy to see that. Flogging a man in front of his family… What seeds of love are you sowing in our young community?” the former Busiiro East MP asked.
The Monday arrest came as Lukwago was preparing to legally serve court documents on or to Uganda’s military chief, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, in Dr Kizza Besigye’s treason-related case.
“Let me say it again! I will HANG Kizza Besigye the first chance I get to do it! He wanted to kill my father and he will not escape the punishment that he richly deserves!!,” Gen Muhoozi claimed in a fresh Monday post on his official X handle.