Lumumba Amin, son of former president Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada, has urged the public to stop drawing parallels between the rabid actions of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and his late father’s rule.
Amin’s legacy remains associated with state abductions, abuse of power, political killings, nepotism, shrinking civic space and governance failures. In recent days, several opposition figures have compared the latest security operations involving opposition politicians to the era of the infamous “panda gari” operations of the 1970s.
On Monday, soldiers believed to be attached to the Special Forces Command (SFC) reportedly raided the home of former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, scaled the perimeter wall and took him into custody. Muhoozi later took responsibility for the operation on social media, describing it as payback for Lukwago’s longstanding criticism of him and for attempting to serve him court summons.
The incident has in particular prompted comparisons with the Idi Amin era, but Lumumba said Muhoozi’s actions should be judged on their own merits. He argued that public scrutiny should focus on whether Muhoozi and state agencies are acting within the confines of the Constitution rather than invoking historical comparisons.
While critics have likened recent security operations to abuses committed during Idi Amin’s military government, Lumumba distanced his father’s legacy from the current controversy, saying history should not be invoked without regard to the facts of each case.
“A lot of people have been making comments and, all of a sudden, mentioning my late father, President Idi Amin, in something that he is not even responsible for,” Lumumba said.
“He is not even here. I am a bit perturbed by this sort of association of his name with other people’s actions.”
Lumumba argued that the central issue should be whether authorities acted within Uganda’s legal framework.
“If you want to know what the Amin position is on such an incident, the first thing is: What was he arrested for?” he asked. “What exactly is the crime? Under the laws of Uganda, what offence did he commit? What is the evidence? Those are the facts that should be made public.”
He maintained that transparency regarding the legal grounds for arrest is essential to preserving public confidence in the criminal justice system.
“Even if he is later released for one reason or another, there must be clarity about exactly why he was arrested. It should be clear that he was not arrested arbitrarily or as an abuse of power.”
Lumumba’s remarks have renewed attention on constitutional safeguards governing arrest and detention. Article 23 of the 1995 Constitution guarantees the right to personal liberty and prohibits arbitrary arrest. It requires that every arrested person be informed immediately of the reasons for arrest in a language they understand and be produced before a competent court within 48 hours.
Article 28 guarantees the right to a fair hearing, while Article 20 obliges all state organs and public officials to respect, uphold and promote the rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution. The Criminal Procedure Code Act further requires that arrests be based on lawful authority, reasonable suspicion and recognised criminal offences.
Lumumba insisted that every arrest must be anchored in clearly identifiable offences.
“You cannot arrest anybody without having clear legal reasons to do so. It must relate to an offence recognised under the laws of Uganda, together with the evidence supporting that allegation,” he said.
“I ask the public to be patient and wait for the details. We need to know precisely what offence the former Lord Mayor is alleged to have committed, and then we can discuss the matter from an informed position.”
He extended the same appeal to Uganda’s international partners, many of whom have expressed concern over recent reports involving opposition politicians and alleged human rights violations.
“Even the country’s foreign partners are concerned about these issues. Why they are concerned is another debate, but I ask everyone to wait for the facts,” he said.
Lumumba’s appeal contrasted sharply with reactions from opposition leaders, who argue that the reported arrest reflects a pattern of repression reminiscent of Uganda’s authoritarian past.
Former Kira Municipality MP and People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda welcomed Lukwago’s transfer to Luzira Prison, saying detention in a recognised prison offered greater legal protection than alleged military custody.
Recalling the detention of the late Hajji Aziz Kasujja during Idi Amin’s administration, Ssemujju said military officers at the time reportedly told Kasujja that prison was safer than remaining in military detention.
“Today, we find ourselves relieved that Lukwago is in Luzira rather than allegedly being held under military custody,” he said, describing the comparison as indicative of growing public anxiety over extra-judicial detention.
National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, was more direct in comparing the current administration with Uganda’s military past. Kyagulanyi accused the government of employing methods similar to those associated with Idi Amin’s feared State Research Bureau.
“You can abduct and torture him, but you cannot break his resolve,” Kyagulanyi said.
He argued that repression exposes institutional weakness rather than political strength and asserted that Uganda’s “liberators” had adopted the very tactics they once condemned.
Kyagulanyi further claimed that both the alleged detention facilities in Mbuya and the notorious State Research Bureau headquarters in Nakasero represented different eras of the same struggle over state power. He also criticised Uganda’s international partners for continuing to support the government despite persistent human rights concerns.
Pauline Nansamba Mutumba, director for Complaints, Investigations and Legal Services at the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), said constitutional safeguards exist to protect both individual liberty and public confidence in justice.
“Every institution involved in law enforcement has a duty to ensure that constitutional rights are respected throughout the arrest and detention process,” she said. “Transparency and accountability remain fundamental principles in protecting human rights.”
The reported arrest of Lukwago has become the latest flashpoint in Uganda’s increasingly polarised debate over constitutional governance and security sector accountability.
Opposition leaders have petitioned Parliament to reconvene during recess to debate allegations of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, military involvement in civilian law enforcement and compliance with court orders.
Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi argues that Parliament has a constitutional responsibility to exercise oversight whenever credible allegations of human rights violations arise.
History can be both instructive and comparative. The officer I recall who wielded nearly unrestricted power was Gen. Oyite Ojok, Chief of Staff of the UNLA. He operated with such autonomy that even President Obote at the time had little control over him. However, power is often fleeting. I remember 3 December 1983 as if it were yesterday. In a single, unremarkable day, everything in Uganda changed.
I understand Lumumba Amin defending his father’s legacy; as a son, it is painful to see his father compared to Gen. Muhoozi. But the fact remains: since independence, Uganda has only known back-to-back autocracy with no peaceful transition. Amin openly declared himself life president and used firing squads and ‘Panda Gari’ to crush dissent. Today, Muhoozi’s drones and abductions are doing the exact same thing. What hurts most is that blood was shed in the Luwero bush war to end this tyranny. Instead, for 40 years under Museveni, we got something even worse. Museveni didn’t just rig the elections—the very catalyst for the bush war—he institutionalized nepotism, tribalism, corruption, and the rule of the gun. He turned politics into a get-rich-quick scheme. Sadly, that is exactly why Bobi Wine (Kyagulanyi) joined politics. By treating the struggle as a money-making venture, Kyagulanyi has derailed all hope and allowed Muhoozi to operate with impunity. We are trapped between a groomed successor [Muhoozi] and a compromised opposition [Kyagulanyi]. As Erias Lukwago’s wife recently stated: ‘If this is Gen. Muhoozi’s way of seeking approval, it will not work. People are tired. We may lack guns, but elsewhere, people have risen and governments have changed.’ Our children will never forgive us if we let Uganda deteriorate beyond repair. It is time to do whatever it takes to end Museveni’s rule and demand real change.
Fellow Ugandans, our nation is bleeding profusely. Let me clarify what is truly at stake. While Lumumba Amin’s defense of his father is understandable from a familial standpoint, the parallels between Idi Amin’s era and Gen. Muhoozi’s current actions are undeniable. Uganda’s post-independence history is a story of uninterrupted autocracy. The historical ‘Panda Gari’ system of forced disappearances has simply evolved into the modern deployment of unmarked drones. This reality completely betrays the original promises of the Luwero bush war, which was fought to establish democracy and the rule of law. Instead, over the past 40 years, the Museveni administration has entrenched a system of electoral fraud, nepotism, and state patronage. Worse still, the commercialization of politics has deeply infected the opposition. Leadership under Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) has prioritized financial accumulation over genuine systemic reform, effectively neutralizing the liberation movement and allowing Muhoozi to operate with total impunity. Trapped between a hereditary transition and a compromised opposition, we must heed warnings like those from Lukwago’s wife, who reminded us that structural change often comes from an exhausted public. To protect future generations, Ugandans must collectively organize to dismantle this regime.
Fellow Ugandans, we cannot afford to sleep through this. Let the abduction of Erias Lukwago be the final catalyst that wakes us up. We must abandon ‘business as usual’ and stop waiting for the opposition to call the shots. We cannot rely on a failed opposition that treats liberation as a commercial enterprise—Kyagulanyi’s financial focus has only granted Muhoozi absolute impunity. As a result, citizens are sandwiched between a militant dynasty and a failed opposition.
The ‘Muhoozi Project’ is being built right before our eyes, designed for a son python to replace a father python. Commentators like Dr. Serunkuma push the narrative that accepting a lethal son python is better than enduring a deadly father python just to secure a ‘peaceful transition.’ Do not fall for this deliberate scaremongering about a Sudan or Libya predicament. We should not be begging Museveni for the ‘favor’ of choosing his successor. Uganda deserves better. It is our duty as citizens to demand Museveni’s immediate exit, not to negotiate our own captivity.
Mr Lumumba Amin, you are right. Your father was a lot more patriotic than Museveni or the wannabe Muhoozi will ever be. There are so many tangible developments that your dad had left for Ugandans to enjoy, only for these pretenders in leadership to either grab for themselves, or completely run down. Moreover, this current leadership is fond of bragging how they played a very big role in destabilizing this country during your father’s regime, so perhaps, history might exonerate your dad of all the mysterious disappearances of prominent people during that period.
It’s clear now that law enforcement is no longer the preserve of UPF and even when charges are brought against an individual there’s a very thin threshold of evidence that the DPP considers before sanctioning. Fundamental and human rights plus the rule of law have been made unaffordable. Why should leaders swear to defend and uphold the constitution in the name of God when they are unable to?
Raymond you ask,”why should leaders swear to defend and uphold the constitution in the name of God when they are unable to? And I will tell you the current leaders neither believe in God at all, nor the Constitution and its principles. It’s the reason he took up arms and shot himself into power. Museveni is a master at deception (among other vices), and pulling wool over people’s eyes. I don’t think he has ever spoken the truth or acted with integrity in his life.
Of course they are all the same. They all loved to depend on refugees to bolster the international image of Uganda. They were all internationally trained militarily by Israel and the USA to govern Uganda as it is presently done!
URN, the “panda gari” operations were not of the 1970s, but from Feb 1981 when our current 86-years-old PROBLEM OF AFRICA, Gen Tibuhaburwa and other criminals went to the bushes of Luweero because he miserably lost the election to Hon Sam Kuteesa.
Courtesy of Prof. Mahmood Mamdani (Slow Poison), since Gen Tibuhaburwa and son Gen MK are now worse than his father Amin Dada (RIP in Saudi Arabia) Lumumba Amin should calm down. But I also want to tell him that under his father’s era of terror, torture in the Nakasero and Naguru Godown (Basements) disappearances and murders: to date, my brother in law (1971), and cousin brother (1972), elder brother disappeared (May 1977) and Uncle, former IGP and Minister of Land, Erinayo Oryema was murdered (May 1977).
And remember, because he is a self-confessed AUTHOR and MASTER of SUBVERSION and VIOLENCE, and was the Minister of Defence under the UNLA/F Military Commission Administration (accessed Military uniforms, hardware and trucks, the guy planted the “enemies within”, the Paul Kagame and Fred Rwegyema of Rwandese refugees in this country, to conduct the nastiest Military Roadblocks and the “panda gari operation” that went with it; in order to provoke resentments and hate campaign among Baganda and violence (join the rebellion) against Obote II UPC Administration (courtesy of Pasco Kuteesa RIP and Gen Matayo Kyaligonza of the UNLA stole Uniforms and 4 guns from Gulu Military Barracks Armoury) .
Surely Amin Lumumba at the speed of training Israel was provinding to your dear father about being an African military dictator and puppet of the Western civilization under that former USA foreign Scretary Heinz Alfred Wolfgang Kissinger, you would be the heir to that vicious former President of Uganda! Unfortunately for Idi Amin, he turned coat and started supporting 100 percent the human rights of the Angola people, the people of Mozambique and South Africa, and the Palestine people forgetting completely that charity surely begins at home! President Amin as a resonable African man should have supported and respected his own people’s human rights first two hundred percent!!