Eddie Mutwe: Ugandan bodyguard charged after days of torture, lawyer says
A bodyguard for one of Uganda's opposition leaders, Bobi Wine, has been charged with aggravated robbery, days after the head of the military said he had detained him. Last week Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also President Yoweri Museveni's son, confirmed that he had been holding Eddie Mutwe five days after his disappearance. The lawyer representing the bodyguard, whose real name is Edward Sebuufu, said his client had been tortured, telling the country's Daily Monitor newspaper that he was beaten using "wires of electricity".Magellan Kazibwe added that Mr Sebuufu was in "great pain" and had also faced the squeezing of his "private parts".
Mr Kazibwe told reporters that Mr Sebuufu had faced electrocution and that his team were planning to take him to hospital.Rights groups have long accused the authorities of targeting the opposition especially during the run up to elections.As Mr Sebuufu was brought to court on Monday, security operatives tried to shield him to prevent the media from seeing him. But videos showed Bobi Wine's bodyguard barefoot, and hardly able to walk.Last week, Gen Kainerugabai posted on social media that Mr Sebuufu was in his custody. The army chief said the bodyguard had been shaved and that he planned to castrate him. The detention comes as Uganda gears up for elections in 2026 where Museveni, who has been in power for nearly four decades, is expected to run against Bobi Wine. Several human rights activists have condemned Mr Sebuufuu's detention, meanwhile Uganda's Human Rights Commission called for his immediate release.Civil society organisations have also warned that his detention is part of a systematic campaign to silence dissent and crush opposition ahead of the general election.However, the government blames the opposition for civilian and police clashes, saying they hold rallies without permission. Lawyer Mr Kazibwe added that aside from aggravated robbery, Mr Sebuufuu was also charged with simple robbery over an alleged incident in Lwengo District.
You may also be interested in:
Bobi Wine: Uganda's 'ghetto president'How an ex-rebel has stayed in power for 35 yearsUgandan internet propaganda network exposed by the BBC
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
24 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Girl, 9, and man die in house fire as 11-year-old girl fighting for life in hospital
Two girls were rushed to hospital, where the youngest sadly died BLAZE TRAGEDY Girl, 9, and man die in house fire as 11-year-old girl fighting for life in hospital Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A NINE-year-old girl and her father have tragically died after a fire ripped apart a house, injuring another child. An eleven-year-old girl was rushed to hospital and remains in critical condition. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up Emergency services scrambled to the scene in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire on Sunday morning. Despite the best efforts of paramedics, a man died at the scene. Both girls were rushed to hospital, where the youngest sadly died. Detective Inspector Paul Greatorex said: "We are continuing to work with colleagues at the fire service to investigate this dreadfully sad incident which has resulted in a father and daughter losing their lives. "Extensive enquiries have been ongoing since yesterday and we have been working to locate and support relatives of the victims both here and outside of the UK at what is clearly an awful time for the family. "While our enquiries remain ongoing we do not believe there are any suspicious circumstances regarding the cause of the fire and will be preparing a file for the coroner in due course. "Our support for the family involved clearly also still continues." 2 The scene after the fatal house fire in Heckmondwike Credit: © YappApp 2 Police and forensics at the scene this morning after the fire Credit: © YappApp More to follow... For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.
The National
24 minutes ago
- The National
BBC bosses draw up plans to win trust of Reform UK voters
Minutes from a meeting of the broadcaster's editorial guidelines and standards committee from March show that BBC News CEO Deborah Turness gave a presentation in which she discussed plans to alter "story selection" and "other types of output, such as drama" to win the trust of Reform voters. The minutes, which were reported by The Byline Times, also show the committee identified "the importance of local BBC teams" to their plan to win over supporters of Nigel Farage. There is reportedly a belief that the coporation's news and drama output is creating "low trust issues" with Farage backers. The minutes states: "The CEO, News and Current Affairs provided the Committee with a presentation on plans to address low trust issues with Reform voters. READ MORE: Richard Murphy: What to expect from Rachel Reeves's spending review "The committee discussed the presentation. Committee members recognised the importance of local BBC teams in the plan, given their closeness to audiences. "Directors discussed how story selection and other types of output, such as drama, also had a role to play. An update on progress would return to a future meeting." The committee includes former GB News executive Robbie Gibb, who is also a former director of communications at Number 10 and an outspoken Brexiteer. Gibb was appointed to the board by former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2021. He was identified by former BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis in 2022 as an 'active agent of the Conservative party'. Farage has repeatedly used his own GB News platform to attack the BBC, calling it a 'political actor' and threatening to boycott the corporation. In language also used by the BBC Editorial Committee, the Reform leader suggested that BBC editors were using 'story selection' in order to target his party. In an incident last year, Farage refused to appear on the BBC until the broadcaster apologised for allowing members of the public to ask him questions during a special episode of Question Time. READ MORE: UK sends spy plane over Gaza as Madleen threatened by Israel Byline Times said BBC staffers it spoke to are concerned about the plan to win over Reform voters, due to the risk of increasing allegations of bias. The BBC has previously been criticised by some viewers for heavily featuring Reform UK politicians on its programmes, despite the party only having a handful of MPs. In July last year, sociology professor Tom Mills – author of The BBC: The Myth of a Public Service – claimed the BBC were giving such a platform to Farage because they are such a big part of a 'political establishment which has drifted to the right'. 'I think the simple answer to why they [the BBC] like Nigel Farage is they are much more comfortable with an anti-establishment figure on the right than the left. It's as simple as that," he said. 'He's on their political spectrum and the political spectrum for the BBC runs from the centrists out to Nigel Farage. 'They still see those guys [like Farage] as being rogue figures of the establishment, but they are just given legitimacy by the fact that there's lots of voices they [the BBC] see to be legitimate in these media organisations which speak from a similar sort of perspective.' The BBC has been approached for comment.
Belfast Telegraph
an hour ago
- Belfast Telegraph
The BBC got us through endless Northern nights, Gerry Adams
The BBC is 'The British Broadcasting Corporation', but nobody calls it that except Gerry Adams. Again and again, very deliberately, as he savours his triumph in the recent libel action against 'The British Broadcasting Corporation', he gives it the full official title — almost as if the 'British' part has connotations of inherent badness. He claims that his purpose in taking the action was to 'put manners' on this British Broadcasting Corporation. There were even suggestions — later denied — that the BBC would consider blocking the transmission of its programmes in this country, rather than risk further exposure to our atrocious libel laws.
