UN Warns Museveni Against Abduction Ahead of January Elections
Volker Türk, the United Nations Human Rights Chief, has warned Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni against arbitrary arrests and detentions of activists and opposition leaders.
Volker issued a statement on Wednesday, December 4, commenting on Uganda’s growing crackdown on the opposition ahead of next month’s general elections.
He accused the Ugandan government of violating human rights and freedoms through arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and torture of opposition sympathizers and activists.
Volker explicitly referred to the enforced disappearance of two Kenyan activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, who were purportedly seized in Kampala, Uganda, on October 1 and released approximately 40 days later.
I call on the #Ugandan Government to end violence against media & opposition ahead of the upcoming general election. All human rights violations must be fully and impartially investigated.https://t.co/JS26vMrkRS pic.twitter.com/kINhqUb3ku
— Volker Türk (@volker_turk) December 3, 2025
Museveni informed the media in November that he held the two in a ‘fridge’ while admitting that the Ugandan government had detained the two Kenyans, despite telling the court otherwise.
The UN chief chastised Museveni for reportedly organizing the kidnapping with the assistance of his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who leads the country’s military.
“In a recent case, two Kenyan activists, who were arbitrarily detained in Uganda shortly after attending an opposition rally in October,” Volker noted.
Adding, “They were handed over to the Kenyan authorities after more than a month of incommunicado detention in what the Ugandan President called ‘the fridge’.”
According to the UN chief, in May of this year, the commander of Uganda’s military wrote on his X platform that he was detaining opposition leader Bobi Wine’s bodyguard in his “basement”.
Following a public outcry, the bodyguard appeared in court, visibly shivering and exhibiting other signs of physical torture. However, the court never responded to such evidence of torture or ill-treatment.
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Volker also revealed that scores of additional opposition sympathizers are still in custody after being arrested in connection with their political activity during the previous elections more than four years ago.
While denouncing the instability in Uganda, Volker urged Museveni’s administration to investigate all charges of enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest, and incarceration.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also urged Uganda’s government to protect the right to free expression in light of recent restrictions on press freedom in the nation.
UN Warns Museveni Against Abduction Ahead of January Elections
