Zalwango Lukwago struggled to hold back tears as she recounted the events surrounding the arrest of her husband, former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.
Speaking to lawyers gathered at the Uganda Law Society (ULS) headquarters, Zalwango’s voice occasionally faltered as she thanked members of the legal fraternity for standing with her family through what she described as days of fear, uncertainty and emotional distress.
“It gives me great courage and a sense of direction to see that the Law Society, our brothers and sisters, are standing with us as a family,” she said.
The press briefing was convened amid growing concern within the legal community over the arrest and prosecution of Lukwago, who is facing charges of misprision of treason. Seated beside the couple’s second-born daughter, a law student at Makerere University, Zalwango revealed that the arrest had taken a significant emotional toll on her family.
“She is supposed to be in lectures, but ever since they arrested her father, she has not been able to study,” Zalwango told the gathering. “I have been trying to counsel her and encourage her to remain strong.”
According to Zalwango, the family had received information that security operatives were surrounding their home. Despite the tension, she had prepared breakfast for her husband, hoping the day would proceed normally. However, shortly afterwards, loud knocks disrupted the morning.
“We first heard a bang on the main door,” she recalled. “Then there was another bang on the bedroom door where counsel Lukwago was.”
She alleged that armed security personnel forced their way into the house and demanded that Lukwago surrender himself.
“I knew they had come for him,” she said. “When I opened the door and tried to resist, I was kicked down. They entered the room and arrested him.”
What followed, she said, were three agonising days during which the family had no direct communication with Lukwago and relied largely on information circulating online to learn about his whereabouts and condition.
“Our daughter would keep checking social media, hoping to find information about how her father was doing,” Zalwango said. “That was the only way we could know anything.”
Her greatest concern, she said, was Lukwago’s health. Zalwango explained that her husband has been recovering from injuries allegedly sustained during previous arrests and continues to receive treatment for spinal complications.
She recalled an earlier incident in which, according to her account, Lukwago was forcefully bundled onto a vehicle and fell, sustaining injuries that affected his spine.
“He is still in the recovery process,” she said. “He has prescribed medication, prescribed food, and even prescribed sleeping and sitting positions because he is healing.”
The family eventually saw him at Kira Division Police Headquarters, where, according to Zalwango, he described the conditions he had endured while in detention.
“When I met him, he told me he had been tortured psychologically and physically,” she said. “He was in a lot of pain.”
She further alleged that Lukwago had been repeatedly slapped while in custody, affecting his hearing, and that he had been held in a poorly ventilated room despite suffering from respiratory challenges.
“The room had no ventilation,” she said. “He has a breathing problem and now complains of pain in his lungs.”
Zalwango also claimed that one of his arms had become partially immobile due to complications related to a previous operation and the conditions under which he was allegedly detained.
While much of her address focused on her husband’s welfare, she also used the occasion to appeal to the Judiciary to place greater emphasis on human dignity and the protection of fundamental rights.
“I appeal to the Judiciary to become more humane,” she said. “The rule of law must remain above everything else.”
She questioned the decision to remand Lukwago despite his medical condition, arguing that alternative measures could have been considered.
Throughout her remarks, Zalwango repeatedly thanked the lawyers representing her husband, particularly Medard Sseggona and the wider legal team, whom she credited with working tirelessly since the arrest.
She also expressed gratitude to journalists, members of the public and the Uganda Law Society for maintaining attention on the case. As the matter returns to court, Zalwango said her family remains hopeful that justice will prevail despite the uncertainty surrounding the case.
“We need you to continue standing with us,” she told the gathering. “We do not know where this journey will end, but your support gives us strength.”
URN left out the message that Mrs Lukwago directed at Mr Museveni and his son .
She said , among other things, that Uganda needs better leadership , and that it is NOT Museveni`s son however much he tries to be accepted/ liked, its not going to work
This lady is more courageous than one columnist who is trying too hard to push Muhoozi down everyone`s throat .
Betty, I am placing my previous analysis here to amplify your observations regarding Mrs. Lukwago’s courage versus the compliance of certain columnists. Mrs. Lukwago correctly identifies that Uganda needs systemic change, not a managed hereditary transition. In contrast, Dr. Sserunkuma’s commentary attempts to legitimize the ‘Muhoozi Project’ by arguing that a lethal ‘son python’ is a necessary evil to avoid the state collapse seen in Libya or Sudan. This is compliance driven by fear. In reality, Museveni and his son operate on the same violent calculus. Look at history. The men who picked up guns and headed to the bush—Museveni, Kagame, Rwegyema—only produced autocracy. The regional violence created the exact same dictatorship in Rwanda as we see in Uganda, with Kagame acting as a life president just like Museveni. We should not allow Dr. Sserunkuma to shove Muhoozi down our throats under the guise of a ‘peaceful transition.’ We must demand Museveni’s immediate exit, not negotiate our own captivity. We cannot expect a solution from a commercialized opposition where leadership under Robert Kyagulanyi has prioritized financial accumulation over genuine reform. We’re trapped between a militant dynasty and a paralyzed opposition; the public must use Erias Lukwago’s abduction as a turning point. We must stop fostering business as usual by recycling the same bogus, violent elections while our opposition gathers at the dining table to share taxpayers’ money with Museveni as a government. We must reject the narrative of a forced dynastic transition and demand the immediate end of the Museveni regime.
Hello Sir , I guess you read that I asked Mw.Sserunkuma to clear the air over his Muhoozi articles. You , I and others have noticed that Mw.Sserunkuma is conflicted as evidenced by his contradictions . At one point , he says Muhoozi will be accepted by locals and the international community , especially around the region ; at another point he writes that besides Rwanda and Israel , Muhoozi has no regional backers. Mw.Sserunkuma mentions some of atrocities that Muhoozi has committed lately , and then calls him a Movie Star !!
Mw.Sserunkuma`s deception is strangely transparent . He has tried to argue that itis a wastage of energy to imagine that Muhoozi is and will not be his Dad`s successor .A weak argument coming from a Muslim who starts his prayers by condemning the Devil ( okwagaana sitani/ shaytan)
We all know that shaytan is always right there doing his job ; our obligation as believers is to deny any association with Him- shaytan- We do not explain or justify Satan just because he is here, there and everywhere. We curse him ; Muslims travel to Mecca to “stone Shaytan .
Mrs Lukwago has no power to break into Mr.Muhoozi`s torture chambers and rescue her man ; but she`s got the mouth , the brain and the guts to tell Mr.Museveni and his unstable son that they may kidnap, torture , manufacture false evidence against this and that fool , but they better know that Uganda is tired of and will never accept them
Mukwano Betty, you have clearly broken down what is, for lack of a better word, absolute hypocrisy. Dr. Sserunkuma disappointingly contradicts himself in trying to sell us the ‘Muhoozi Project.’ In one of his articles, he describes Muhoozi using the proverb ‘Omusota oguli mu ntamu’ (a python in a cooking pot), arguing that if you try to kill it, you break the pot and lose everything. His defeatist narrative basically tells us to leave the lethal son python alone so he can inherit power from his deadly father. He pairs this with deliberate scaremongering about Sudan and Libya to force our compliance. This is the exact fear-based anarchy Museveni’s regime has used for over 40 years. Now, Museveni—with help from columnists like Sserunkuma—is clearing Muhoozi’s path by trying to terrorize Ugandans into silence. They want us to believe that if we speak out, we will end up like Erias Lukwago or worse, like the tortured Jakana Nadduli. Think about it: if Museveni can lock up Dr. Kizza Besigye—his own personal bush-war doctor—for over two years, who are we? Tragically, Besigye is imprisoned, over 3,000 NUP supporters have been killed, missing, or jailed since November 2020, and the public just condones it as business as usual. Now Lukwago faces absurd charges of ‘misprision of treason,’ allegedly for not informing the state about a plot against Museveni. History repeats itself. Edidian Luttamaguzi was tortured to death in Luwero for refusing to reveal where Museveni was hiding in a granary (mu kibbanyi). Back then, Museveni used a gun to overthrow Obote’s elected government. Nobody has launched an armed struggle against Museveni, yet Lukwago, nicknamed ‘The Rule of Law’ for his peaceful constitutional battles, is treated like a combatant. Dr. Sserunkuma telling us to submit to Muhoozi just to avoid Lukwago’s fate is embarrassingly absurd.
Betty my dear, I always appreciate your comments because you speak with real substance. You are entirely right about Mrs. Lukwago’s exceptional courage. Her words of wisdom show us exactly what we need to do. Our nation has been bleeding profusely for 40 years, yet our resistance has remained stuck in ‘business as usual.’ Look at the brutal reality: Muhoozi can orchestrate the daylight abduction of a high-profile public figure like Erias Lukwago, openly brag about it on X, and the country just moves on.
Look at the pictures: Lukwago’s home looks like an active war zone surrounded by heavily armed militants. Treating a prominent civilian lawyer like a battlefield enemy should shake us to our core. Look also at the horrific raid on Muwanga Kivumbi’s home, where innocent, unarmed people were brutally murdered in cold blood. The terrifying truth is that our entire country has been completely occupied by militants, yet not a single civilian has ever taken up arms to fight Museveni. We are a completely unarmed population facing a ruthless militant machine, and we are utterly powerless as long as we remain divided.
Kyagulanyi and the NUP leadership have deeply fractured the opposition. How can some NUP supporters celebrate Lukwago’s captivity while senior figures (Balimwezo) stay silent? While Dr. Kizza Besigye remains locked away under arbitrary state detention, and brave activists like Eddie Mutwe and Mafumbira face the brunt of state overreach, the response cannot be empty campaign slogans (Kalonde, Kakuume, Kabbanje) or participating in rigged elections. No single individual or singular political party will ever be able to dislodge Museveni’s entrenched militant autocracy. Fragmented, we lose. Let the outrage of Lukwago’s abduction be the exact catalyst that unites us to relentlessly fight for change together.
Muhoozi has already given you/us his hidden secrets-Bachwezi. Use it against him. It’s haunting him. As grandchild of the original worshipper, say this prayers 7 times, one each day, locate a hill or mountain nearby, kneel touching the Earth, say; We are tired of being tortured, oppressed by corrupt regime. “We command the earth and heavens to cut off evil energy its feeds into the mountains, water bodies, forest, animals, birds that wicked people tap in. Let this force/evil energy turn against evil users(Muhoozi)! In Jesus Name”. Then watch and see the outcome. Use the energy/force against him…Faith and believe in Jesus is what counts. No need to go through a Pastor, Priest, or Witch or Shrine. We carry much energy in each of us, let that force, energy align, flow into the earth.