A disputed carpet theft complaint led human rights activist and lawyer Aloikin Praise Opoloje to Namungoona police station, where she was subsequently taken away by armed men, according to her friend Raus Ninsima.
Ninsima said the sequence of events at the station left her convinced that the carpet complaint had been used to ‘lure’ Opoloje to the police station before she was allegedly taken away over her criticism of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
The reported incident has drawn concern from lawyers and human rights activists, with the Uganda Law Society demanding Opoloje’s immediate release and authorities accounting for her whereabouts. As of Sunday, neither police nor defence authorities had publicly confirmed where she was being held, her legal status or any charges against her.
The carpet complaint
According to Ninsima, who had visited Opoloje at her home in Namungoona earlier that day, the incident began after Opoloje collected a carpet from a car-washing and carpet-cleaning business near her home.
At about 1 pm, Ninsima said, the carpet washer called Opoloje and claimed that the carpet belonged to another woman whose housemaid had reportedly gone looking for it.
Opoloje maintained that the carpet was hers. To establish ownership, Ninsima said they took photographs and videos of the carpet and sent them to the washer, asking him to share them with the woman so that she could compare them with her own.
The photographs were reportedly never opened. The woman later called Opoloje directly and, when asked to describe her carpet, allegedly gave details that did not match the one in Opoloje’s possession, according to Ninsima.
Opoloje then asked for a WhatsApp number to which she could send the photographs and videos, but the woman reportedly said she did not use WhatsApp and would instead report the matter to police.
“I intervened and told the woman to go to the police, and we would come with our carpet and prove our ownership, and then she hung up. Shortly, the carpet washer called and said the woman had gone to the police,” Ninsima said.
At about 6:30 pm, Opoloje received a call from Namungoona police station informing her that a carpet theft complaint had been lodged against her and asking her to report to the station.
Ninsima said they asked for directions and went to the station near Namungoona Orthodox Church, carrying the disputed carpet.
‘They were tracking her’
Ninsima said the circumstances changed after they arrived at the station. She said that when they reached the counter and asked about the case, the officer instead told them to go to another room. Inside that room, a man in a maroon shirt was already waiting.
Instead, Ninsima said, the man told them that security operatives had been tracking Opoloje and that she was going to be taken to Muhoozi.
She added that the officers told them that they had been tracking Opoloje and that the operatives from Defence Intelligence and Security, formerly CMI, had been tracking her and they were going to take her to the CDF.
Ninsima said Opoloje then began taking photographs of the man with her phone after suspecting that the carpet complaint was not the reason she had been summoned.
She said an army officer emerged and attempted to stop Opoloje from recording, leading to a scuffle. According to Ninsima, officers in army-green uniforms subsequently called in other operatives dressed in plain clothes.
Outside the station, she said, a van, registration number UA875AG, locally described as a “drone”, was parked near the entrance with its engine running.
“They dragged and pushed Praise inside and disappeared. When I tried to intervene, I was put at gunpoint and later asked to leave the police station,” Ninsima said.
She further claimed that an officer at the reception told her Opoloje would be taken to Entebbe Police Station, where they allegedly handle “indisciplined people of her calibre”.
Opoloje’s whereabouts remained unknown as of press time.
Video preceded disappearance
The reported incident came hours after Opoloje posted and widely shared a video in which she criticised Muhoozi over what she described as intimidation of Ugandans through arrests and torture.
Her disappearance came shortly after she criticised Muhoozi in a video, while noting that police and security agencies had not confirmed her location, detention or any charges against her.
The World Liberty Congress, which described Opoloje as one of its members, said reports indicated she had voluntarily gone to Namungoona police station after being called in over what she understood to be a routine matter. The organisation said reports that military intelligence subsequently took her away had not been independently confirmed and called for clarification from Ugandan authorities.
The Uganda Law Society has since demanded her immediate release, saying she was reportedly taken from the police station by armed security personnel whose identity and authority were not disclosed.
Activists demand answers
The circumstances surrounding Opoloje’s reported disappearance have triggered concern among lawyers and human rights activists, who want authorities to disclose her whereabouts and the legal basis for any detention.
Opoloje has previously been involved in civic and human rights activism. She was among activists arrested during anti-corruption protests in 2024 and later granted bail. The case against her and two others was eventually dismissed in 2025 after repeated failure by the prosecution to produce witnesses.