Some elements within the police arms of Crime Intelligence (CI) and Field Force Unit (FFU) are on spot for reportedly conniving with individuals within the National Unity Platform (NUP) to fake activism for visa acquisition.
NUP activists have for a long time been on the spot for using activism in order to send their members to the diaspora in order to earn money as migrant workers “Nkuba kyeyo”.
Impeccable sources indicate that following this undercover motive, some NUP supporters connive with some elements within police and media to pull public stunts by causing chaos and ‘get arrested’ on camera.
What is shocking is that when these “NUP activists” finally reach their countries of destination, they seek political asylum yet back home, they have no traces/ links to politics.
Their planned criminal moves are reportedly superintended by some elements within Crime Intelligence and Field Force Unit who later ensure that their files are shelved. This criminal process in the long run puts the entire Uganda Police Force on spot as enemies of democracy.
The intelligence circles within the government are probing the claims that most of the arrested activists are normally released on police bond. Although some are remanded following the ‘cooked or planned’ camera evidence, they go through the court process until they are bailed out to start on the procedure of visa hunt and later jump bail.
This is detrimental since it paints a bad image to the ruling government in connection to the human rights violations.
Owing to this, the former US Secretary of State in Uganda Antony J. Blinken issued a standing warning in December last year and also announced the expansion of the visa restriction to individuals who are accused of violating human rights and undermining the democratic process as propagated by NUP activists.
It is due to this propaganda, that the US and other governments base to conclude that NUP members, environmental activists, human rights defenders, journalists, LGBTQI+ persons, and civil society organizers are repressed by the government.
However, the government is on record accusing the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) Party of running a smear campaign dubbed “state kidnaps” as a ploy to solicit visas to go abroad.
While presenting a government report regarding the November 2020 protest in Parliament on November 29, 2023, Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Gen. David Muhoozi, wondered why the victims of these kidnappings never captured the number plates of the vehicles behind these abductions. The Minister claimed that the top leadership of NUP barred relatives of missing persons from speaking to the police, which explains why some cases of missing persons remain unresolved to date.
To demystify the allegations, the government has instituted an investigating arm to find out the truth by discovering who is behind the smear campaign to taint the image of the NRM government.
HOW IT IS DONE
The preliminary investigations indicate that NUP leaders have planted cameramen on all the prominent people within the party. This has been confirmed by NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine on several occasions. While addressing the media at his home last week, he confirmed that three cameramen who captured the latest Bulindo impasse were arrested by police and appeared in court; one was released on bail and two were remanded for failing to produce substantial sureties. The activists in question are photographed with leaders during the meetings to show that they are very close and well entrenched in the political party. Their faces are captured and published by various media houses. They use the media publications and court records to show that they are persecuted.
These records are attached to the documents which they use to apply for visas under the guise of running away due to persecution.
Another way being investigated is the nature of arrest. The activists whose partial documents are already submitted to the embassies, cause chaos and get arrested in a rough way. The photographs which appear like they are being manhandled by FFU officers are captured by the media. Since this is pre-planned, the cops in such dubious deals are reportedly paid between Shs500,000 to Shs1m for the job well done. Investigations indicate that this money is shared by some wrong elements within the CI department to silence the matter and give way to the activists to proceed with their ulterior motives to secure visas.
This is not the first time NUP members are using the trick to push their roguery antics.
Earlier, one NUP diehard, Samuel Obedgiu, aka Strike Machine, was able to acquire the Visa by involving himself in activism through a number of strikes and deliberately defying police orders that drew media attention towards him. During his stay in the diaspora, he has been able to acquire an appointment as a NUP advisor. Obedgiu claims he is an Environmental and Civic Human Rights activist, writer, Agricultural extension expert, and researcher.
Sombi Ibrahim Omondi, Daniel Kawuma, Susan N. Kimaswa, Brenda Nakato, Peter Ekakoro, Isaac Kasirye, and Elizabeth Nantezza Lubwama are among those from NUP who exploited political activism to obtain visas.
According to sources, several of these migrant workers like Milton Allimadi, Herman Ainebyona, Florence Nsereko and Saasi Marvin have managed to elevate themselves to party advisors.