Police have confirmed the arrest of Butambala County opposition legislator Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, days after President Yoweri Museveni publicly accused him of backing violent post-election attacks that the president described as acts of terrorism.
In a brief statement on Thursday, Katonga Region Police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said Kivumbi is in police custody and will be presented before court.
“The Uganda Police Force would like to confirm the arrest of the Butambala County legislator, Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi. He is currently in police custody and will be arraigned before court in due course,” Tumushabe said.
Kivumbi’s arrest follows remarks made by President Museveni during a victory address on Sunday, in which he accused sections of the opposition, including the National Unity Platform (NUP) lawmaker, of planning coordinated attacks on polling stations after losing parliamentary races in last week’s elections.
Speaking from his Rwakitura residence in Kiruhura District, Museveni alleged that after Kivumbi lost the Butambala County race, groups armed with pangas attempted to carry out violent attacks. He said seven people were shot dead by security forces during the incident.
“What these people were planning is what happened in Butambala with Kivumbi. They were planning to do it all over,” Museveni said, adding that security agencies had received intelligence warning of similar plots in other parts of the country.
Kivumbi was defeated by former journalist-turned-politician Eriasa Mukiibi in one of the most closely watched parliamentary contests.
However, Kivumbi has rejected the president’s claims. In a video shared on social media on Saturday, he accused security forces of using excessive force and displayed images of bullet-riddled garage doors and shattered windows at what he said was his property. He alleged that nearly 10 of his supporters were killed.
“Out of panic, they carried away bodies to justify their rhetoric that they had killed them away from here,” Kivumbi said.
Museveni later doubled down on his accusations, issuing a warning to opposition figures and claiming some were linked to foreign groups seeking to destabilise Uganda.
Opposition leader and NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has dismissed the allegations, saying the president is relying on flawed intelligence. In a New Year address on January 1, Kyagulanyi said he viewed Museveni “with pity,” adding that the president was being fed false information.
Kyagulanyi has also alleged that hundreds of NUP supporters, along with senior party leaders Lydia Tukamushaba, the Deputy President for Western Uganda, and Lina Zedriga, the Deputy President for Northern Uganda, have been forcibly disappeared in recent weeks amid a growing crackdown. Authorities have not publicly responded to the claims.
Kivumbi’s arrest comes amid renewed concern over the treatment of opposition figures during the ongoing election cycle.
Uganda has a history of prolonged pre-trial detention of government critics. Veteran opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been in custody for more than 345 days following his rendition from Nairobi and faces treason-related charges without trial.
In the previous election cycle, former MPs Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana were detained for more than 500 days over murder and terrorism charges linked to violence in central Uganda. Ssegirinya later died, while charges against him were dropped in March 2025. Ssewanyana lost his parliamentary seat in the January 15 election.
The Electoral Commission declared Museveni winner of the January 15 presidential election with 71.65 percent of the vote, extending his rule to nearly four decades. The poll was held under an internet blackout and was marked by allegations of irregularities, biometric voter verification failures and heavy security deployment.
Museveni’s new term is scheduled to begin in May 2026, pending the finalisation of election results.
