Abductions and disappearances in Uganda have become normal

In the past few weeks, the were some dark, violent acts and angry behaviours in an East African country. The kidnapping of young people, brutal killings, and gang-rapings, by security operatives, remain a major tool to coerce or silence opposition politicians in Uganda.

Ordinary people, journalists, politicians and businessmen either witnessed or were treated to an unbearable form of violence, which included: abductions, disappearances and torturing of innocent civilians in Uganda. (Watch Rafik Khan being abducted: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vq6yb6-mX4A).

Additionally, the semi-lunatic son of the Ugandan doctor, one Gen Muhoozi Keinerugaba, in his tweet, stretched beyond diplomatic circles and the country's borders and threatened to use "his own army' to carry out attacks and capture Nairobi the capital of neighbouring Kenya, 649 kilometres South-East of Kampala.

"It wouldn't take us, my army and me, 2 [two] weeks to capture Nairobi," the newly promoted Five Star Gen Muhoozi, tweeted early last week. In past recent Gen Muhoozi made several tweets, expressing support for rebels that are against the sitting government in the region.

November 2020, Lt Gen Muhoozi tweeted: “I urge my great and brave brothers in the Tigrayan Defence Forces to listen to the words of General Yoweri Museveni! I am as angry as you and I support your cause. Those who raped our Tigrayan sisters and killed our brothers must be punished!”

In a tweet the next day, he added: “Our great Tigrayan brothers and sisters cannot be defeated. They have an unconquerable spirit!”

The tweets, then created tension and caused unease within the Foreign Affairs ministry, which is the official state arm to conduct international affairs.

It was Uganda. It was Dr Kizza Besigye's wife Ms Byanyima, one of Uganda’s top-ranking diplomats, that pleaded Muhoozì to delete the tweets: “Please, delete this tweet. It is risking the lives of Ugandans working and living in Ethiopia.” The Ethiopian government was battling Tigrayan rebels from the north, who had captured key cities and are threatening to advance to the capital city, Addis Ababa. Apart from he has extra powers over a group of armed people who carry out some brutal abductions of citizens considered against the status quo. Many disappearances have connections to Gen 'Muhoozi's project.

Whilst, Gen Muhoozi's father, a dictator himself Gen Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, apologized to Kenyans on behalf of his son, he then as Commander-In-Chief, promoted the boy from the Lt General rank to a full General.

The genesis of Gen Muhoozi outburst remains speculative.

Whilst writing about Muhoozi's tweets, the former country’s Co-ordinator of all intelligence, Gen David Sejusa, claimed that, unpaid bribes after facilitating the rigging in the just concluded controversial Kenya general elections.

Unpaid bribe: Gen Sejusa, wrote and posted on his Facebook page claiming that, Muhoozi's threats to capture Nairobi, it was after President Ruto's men allegedly failed to pay Uganda, which allegedly helped him to rig the 9th August General Elections.

"Unpaid rigging bribe is linked to Muhoozi's threats against Kenya," reads Gen Sejusa post on his Facebook.

The former Military Intelligence chief, Gen Sejusa went on to write: "Let the world know that the just ended General Elections in Kenya, were rigged by the NRM /M7/Muhoozi military junta. This was made easily possible with the assistance of election technology company Smartmatic, which was responsible for the botched General elections in Uganda just one year prior," reads Gen Sejusa's post on his Facebook page.

Gen Sejusa, further claimed that: "Millions of $ cash was "promised," to individuals participating in the Kampala-based rigging apparatus by the beneficiary of the Smartic election rigging frenzy in Kenya."

Gen Sejusa explained that: "After the disagreements over how to divide the loot, the "investor " withdrew and ceased responding to the frantic calls of the UPDF's ravenous vultures."

"Those who were hoping to make millions from electoral bets are now turning to crude tactics of course with the approval of the Commander-In-Chief himself.

This briefly explains Muhoozi's recent mysterious war with Kenyan Government's silent silence confirms it."

Much of those mischievous were publicly displayed by the State machineries with impunity though, the government denied being the actors.

The outside world would have been left out on the menus of violence, but whilst, carrying out the brutalities, a foreign businessman, Sulaiman Jakana Nadduli, son of bush warfighter who also doubles as a lawyer and the three family members of renowned journalist, Remmy Bahati was caught up in the melee.

As the metonymic axiom: "The pen is mightier than the sword," was coined by an English writer and politician, Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1839), a Ugandan journalist, Remmy Bahati put up a spirited fight, forcing the Uganda government to forcibly spit Ms Bahati's brother.

Her brother Kelvin Katungi, had just arrived from South Africa but joined the long queue of disappearances of innocent citizens in Uganda under Gen Museveni, which steadily fractured the victims' lives in the past years.

The situation in Uganda not only wrecked the life of the victims but also vaporised several families.

At a certain point the relatives there and the next minute, gone and never to be heard of.

This kind of disappearance stretches back more than decades; families of big names in the history of Uganda include the late Chief Justice Benedicto Kiwanuka, whose remains have never been discovered.

Then Chief Justice Kiwanuka was abducted from his office in Kampala. At the time Kiwanuka, was the country's third powerful citizen, his remains have never be traced to-date.

Over fifty-years, the family and the country still live with unanswered questions and sometimes dream of his return since, they have never buried him.

These real-life abductions and disappearances stories remain in the memories for a very long time than necessary because of the reluctance to accept, the person gone without seeing the remains.

Many such stories have become part of several families in Uganda.

The families of two Ugandan legislators, Allan Sewanyana and Muhammad Segirinya maintain they're being persecuted. Both MPs remain in the dark as the Gen Museveni-controlled courts denied bail to the duo, despite the cooked-up charges.

“It’s the most noxious and crippling incident you can think of for the rest of your life,” said 50-year-old, Jacent Nyirarutega, a sister to Alex Kayijamahe, who disappeared early this year.

Kayijamahe, 52, was everything to the family and when his sister narrates, it sounds as if the incident happened yesterday.

Speaking about Kayijamahe, formerly a bread winner of an eight (8) people's family, she said: "Not knowing, not having a clue where he is; virtually you get sleepless nights in anticipation of his knock on the door one day.”

"My family has suffered the heaviest reverse of life," she added.

In reference to Remmy Bahati's situation, many victims, despite the extreme distress for not knowing the whereabouts of their relatives.

They have found psychological, physical ease and freedom from pain, when learnt that, a person [ like Bahati] with a voice has encountered what, they have gone through for the past three years. "Her voice will be heard, she may as well help to highlight our problems," another relative commented.

When Rammy Bahati's three relatives were abducted, she tirelessly tweeted and demanded to know their whereabouts and the accusations leveled against the trio.

As it has become a norm in Uganda; those with dirty hands pointing the finger to the victims to justify their wrong actions.

In Ms Bahati's scenario, the authorities comprised of police, the army and other security agencies paraded some people clad in army fatigues.

Unlike, in many other scenarios, Ms Bahati, a journalist, wasn't a pushover as many have suffered and endure the security agencies' indignity.

She put-up a spirited fight whilst demanding her brother Kelvin Katungi.

The individuals who were paraded, none had been picked from Bahati's home. The army spokesperson grappled with information, had to distribute fake photos of different suspects.

According to sources, the government believes, there's a lot of information out there that Ms Bahati could have divulged to the US authorities, which led to the sanctions that were slapped against Uganda government officials.

The abduction of her relatives also linked to her activism that potentially denied Gen Museveni from attendance to the UN African summit. She previously interviewed Kakwenza Rukirabashaija who was tortured by Gen Muhoozi before he escaped to Germany.

Ms Bahati was behind the Senate's recommendations to US President Joe Biden asking to exclude Gen Museveni to attend the African Summit.

In the essence, Ms Bahati's family had been targeted to blackmail her and silence her.

Much of the embedded and controlled media keep those horrible stories under the carpet, but Ms Bahati exerted force on the government in the search for her brother Kelvin Katungi.

"I demand to know the whereabouts of my brother, cousin & friend identified as Abala.

"It's strange that the new trend is to target people's families and spouses," she then tweeted in an exchange with Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye. Gen Kulayigye is the UPDF's spokesperson and had distributed photos of unknown suspects alleging, they were the people picked from Bahati's home. Kulayigye had also claimed that, Bahati's brother [Kelvin Katungi] was on a wanted list, though no charges were leveled against him when resurfaced.