NUP Delegation Denied Access to Bobi Wine’s Home, Lawyer Kakuru Tumusiime Arrested

John Baptist Nambeshe and other members of the NUP delegation speaking to reporters after being denied access to Bobi Wine's home.

A delegation from the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) has been denied access to the home of party leader and former presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine.

The delegation, led by NUP Deputy President for the Eastern Region, John Baptist Nambeshe, was turned away by security forces guarding Kyagulanyi’s residence.

According to Nambeshe, the team had gone to the residence on a courtesy visit and to check on the welfare of the family, saying concerns had grown over limited access to the home since the January 15 presidential elections.

“We had come to pay a courtesy call on the home of President Hon Kyagulanyi Ssentamu and also to establish what is happening inside because for some time now no one has accessed the home. We do not even know whether they have food,” Nambeshe said.

He added that the delegation also intended to deliver court documents requiring signatures from Kyagulanyi’s family members.

Security forces sealed off Bobi Wine’s home shortly after the January 15 elections. Kyagulanyi later claimed that security operatives intended to arrest him, forcing him to go into hiding.

Since then, he has released several video messages accusing the government of election rigging and a post-election crackdown on opposition leaders and supporters, and has called on the international community to intervene.

The delegation included lawyers and opposition legislators, among them Muwada Nkunyigi, George Musisi, Kato Tumusiime, and Kakuru Tumusiime.

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Nambeshe said that after being denied access, security personnel forcibly arrested lawyer Kakuru Tumusiime.

“We found a permanent roadblock at the home of the President. We were denied access, and one of the lawyers, Kakuru Tumusiime, was roughed up, handcuffed and thrown onto a police pickup. He remains in detention,” Nambeshe said.

Following the arrest, security personnel dispersed the rest of the delegation from the area.

Nambeshe further revealed that the group contacted the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Abas Byakagaba, who declined to grant them access to the residence and instead referred the matter to officers deployed at the scene.

The NUP delegation eventually left the area without delivering the court documents.