Lt. Herbert Matanda Mabonga
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Torture laced with blackmail seems to be the disturbing theme behind a 30-minute video confession by Lt. Herbert Matanda Mabonga, who has identified himself as a former intelligence officer and released footage he claims was recorded inside a military safehouse.
Mabonga published the lengthy statement directly on social media platforms, including Facebook, TikTok and X, in which he distanced himself from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and accused security agencies of torture, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances.
Alongside his address, Mabonga released video clips which he claimed were recorded inside a secret security facility in Entebbe, around Abayita Ababiri. The footage appears to show opposition figures Sam Mugumya and Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi while in detention.
The location, date and circumstances in which the recordings were made could not independently be verified, and the UPDF had not publicly responded to Mabonga’s allegations by the time of publication.
One of the clips appears to show Mugumya, a former aide to opposition politician Kizza Besigye, struggling to walk around a compound. He is seen wearing a yellow campaign T-shirt bearing President Yoweri Museveni’s image, while another man walks beside him.
Other clips appear to show rooms and bedding inside a gated compound, which Mabonga claims was being used to hold detainees.
Another recording appears to show a military officer checking Kivumbi’s blood pressure.
Kivumbi, a former Butambala County MP and National Unity Platform deputy president for Buganda, was granted Shs3 million cash bail by the Butambala Grade One Magistrate’s Court on September 29, 2026. He faces charges of inciting violence and managing an unlawful society, which he denies.
His lawyers have previously alleged that he was tortured while in custody. Human Rights Watch also reported in August that Kivumbi told the organisation he had been beaten and held at an undisclosed location after being seized by security personnel.
In his video confession, Mabonga introduced himself as a UPDF lieutenant who had served for about 15 years. He said he had worked as an intelligence officer attached to Defence Intelligence and Security Headquarters in Mbuya, formerly known as the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence.
He also claimed to have served as an aide to former Internal Affairs minister Gen Aronda Nyakairima and the late Brig Gen Tom Kikoyo Kabuye, who served as Assistant Chief of Defence Intelligence.
Mabonga said he had left the army after becoming unable to reconcile his conscience with what he claimed to have witnessed.
“I have evidenced and observed matters that really my heart cannot bear anymore. Matters that relate to arbitrary arrests, disappearances, kidnaps and torture,” he said.
He claimed he had previously attempted to raise concerns through internal military channels but was harassed before eventually fleeing his home.
Mabonga further said he had written and signed a dossier detailing what he described as governance failures, corruption and human rights abuses within security agencies. The document, together with the videos, has circulated across X and other social media platforms.
He claimed he possesses additional recordings and other evidence concerning alleged torture and detention and promised to disclose more information.
The allegations have triggered debate across Ugandan social media, particularly over the treatment and whereabouts of political detainees.
However, Mabonga’s identity, military service record, the source of the recordings and the circumstances under which the footage was obtained remain independently unverified. The authenticity of the videos and the claims surrounding them will therefore require confirmation from the relevant authorities and other independent sources.
