Charles Rwomushana
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Mystery still surrounds the unconventional arrest and detention of political analyst and former intelligence operative Charles Rwomushana, who was reportedly seized by armed security operatives during a live radio broadcast in Kampala on Saturday morning.
Rwomushana was taken away at about 10:30am, approximately 30 minutes after joining Radio Simba 97.3 FM’s popular Saturday current affairs programme, Gasimbagane ne Bannamawulire (Face Off with Journalists), at the station’s Bukoto studios.
Witnesses said the operation began around 10am when two Toyota Noah vehicles parked outside the radio station. Shortly afterwards, armed operatives, some dressed in military uniform and others in civilian clothes, reportedly entered the premises without signing the visitors’ book.
The operatives allegedly moved through reception and demanded access to the inner studios where Rwomushana was participating in the live broadcast.
Video footage circulating online showed at least four armed men grabbing Rwomushana shortly after he had greeted listeners and dragging him out of the station by his trousers and collar before forcing him into a waiting vehicle.
The dramatic manner in which the veteran political commentator was removed has raised questions about who ordered the operation and where he was taken.
By Saturday afternoon, neither the Uganda Police Force nor the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) had publicly confirmed Rwomushana’s arrest, disclosed his whereabouts or explained the legal basis for his detention.
National Unity Platform (NUP) secretary general David Rubongoya was among the first opposition figures to raise alarm over the incident.
“Charles Rwomushana grabbed out of Simba Radio studios by armed men in civilian clothes? Whatever is not happening in Uganda!” Rubongoya posted on X.
Former Kampala Deputy Lord Mayor Doreen Nyanjura also described the incident as a forceful removal by unidentified armed operatives.
“Charles Rwomushana forcefully taken from the Radio Simba studios by unidentified armed operatives. When lawlessness becomes the norm, everyone on this sinking ship is at risk,” Nyanjura said.
Speculation over the possible reasons for the arrest has focused partly on Rwomushana’s recent comments about tensions within the First Family.
On August 29, during an appearance on the same station, he discussed the increasingly public political differences between Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and presidential adviser Odrek Rwabwogo, who is Muhoozi’s brother-in-law.
Rwomushana jokingly analysed the reported power struggle and President Yoweri Museveni’s handling of the tensions. Radio Simba subsequently published the programme under a headline referencing the Muhoozi-Rwabwogo dispute and the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID), chaired by Rwabwogo.
The dispute has escalated in recent weeks, with Kainerugaba attacking Rwabwogo and PACEID and accusing the advisory body of corruption, while Rwabwogo has rejected the accusations and criticised the use of force against government critics.
There are also reports linking Rwomushana to prosecution evidence in the ongoing treason case involving veteran opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye. Prosecutors reportedly allege that he attended meetings in Brussels where plans against the government were discussed, an allegation he has previously denied.
Adding another layer to the mystery, it was reported that after Rwomushana posted a clip from his August 29 broadcast, an X user whose profile picture featured Gen Kainerugaba warned him: “Anytm you will be picked.”
Rwomushana, who previously worked in intelligence and headed the political intelligence desk in the President’s Office, later became a prominent commentator on Uganda’s political and security affairs.
With security agencies yet to explain the operation, the circumstances surrounding his detention remained unclear by press time.
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