Kyagulanyi Expresses Displeasure Over EU Head Meeting Muhoozi

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The President of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, has expressed displeasure over the European Union Delegation’s meeting with the Chief of Defence Forces, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, a few weeks ago, despite what he described as his flagrant abuse of human rights.

Speaking alongside the EU Head of Delegation, Ambassador Jan Sadek, at the NUP party headquarters in Makerere Kavule, Kyagulanyi said that such a meeting creates the impression that the European Union is supporting their oppressor.

“The EU wanted to discuss our plan and preparation for the election, but ultimately, the meeting mainly focused on the issue of human rights, which they also hold so dear. We also took the opportunity to raise our concern about the seeming hobnobbing of the diplomats with a brutal person who is Gen. Museveni’s son. We expressed our concern that the people of Uganda tend to view it as support for their oppression. Of course, the leader of the delegation took the opportunity to explain himself,” Kyagulanyi said. 

The EU ambassadors were this morning at NUP headquarters for a conversation about the forthcoming 2026 general election. In the meeting, Kyagulanyi said he also talked about the health condition of his bodyguard Edward Ssebuufu, commonly known as Eddie Mutwe, who is currently at Masaka Prison, where he was sent on remand on charges of aggravated robbery. 

Before Ssebuufu surfaced at Masaka court where he appeared, according to those who saw him, to have been tortured, he had been missing for over a week. Muhoozi Kainerugaba had used his X page to say that it was he who had kidnapped him and was holding him in his basement, teaching him Runyankore. “I took the opportunity to also raise the plight of our brother Eddie Mutwe, who is also rotting away in jail. I mentioned that it would go a long way to help him if the voice of the development partners is raised to get urgent specialized treatment,” Kyagulanyi said. 

For his part, Ambassador Sadek said their meeting shouldn’t be looked at as a partisan exercise as it is going to extend to all political parties to try and understand how they are preparing themselves for elections.  “This is one of the meetings we are pursuing with all the political parties. We are doing this because Uganda is heading for elections next year. We expect more Ugandans to take greater interest in this. We also as diplomats in Uganda we follow very closely what is going on in this country. Together with the leadership of NUP, we discussed the status of affairs in Uganda and how this will affect the elections next year,” Sadek said.

He also expressed concern over the militarization of political processes.  “We have seen this year that there has been violence around the by-election in Kawempe North. We have expressed our concern as well as the intervention by the security forces against the team members of the president , and we have expressed our concerns about that as well. We appeal to all political forces in this country to respect the ideals of democracy and to ensure that there are fair and credible results,” Sadek. Uganda is set to elect a new president and members of parliament in January next year. 

The processes leading to that election have already started taking place, with the EC displaying the voters’ register.