New Report Pins Bobi’s Lieutenants In Dock On Grave Journalists’ Rights Violations

A new Press Freedom Index Report (PFI) by the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda has exposed the involvement of National Unity Platform (NUP) party President Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Wine, in grave violations of journalists’ rights through his private bodyguards.

The 93-page 2024 report, marking the 16th edition of PFI and titled “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: A Slippery Media Landscape,” highlights a disturbing incident in which NUP security personnel physically assaulted journalists covering a funeral in Lwengo district.

Launched on May 2, 2025, at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala, the event was graced by various Human Rights activists and representatives from the embassies of Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Korea. The HRNJ-Uganda report notes that the suppression of the press is no longer limited to state actors, as opposition figures like Bobi Wine’s NUP are also engaging in media intimidation and violating journalists’ rights.

“Alarmingly, the suppression of the press is no longer limited to state actors. Opposition figures, who have traditionally positioned themselves as defenders of democracy and free speech, have also become perpetrators of press violations,” the report’s executive summary states.

It adds, “In a shocking incident, private bodyguards of NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu physically assaulted journalists covering a funeral. This incident raises concerns about the widening scope of press suppression, with even opposition groups engaging in media intimidation.”

The report reveals that NUP bodyguards have been involved in a variety of human rights violations and abuses targeting journalists, media professionals, and media institutions, including blocking access to information, damaging equipment, assault, deleting footage, and stealing gadgets.

After documenting a total of 110 incidents, the report highlights the growing hostility toward media practitioners in Uganda, particularly from political figures in both the government and the opposition alongside their security personnel.

Details

According to the report, on May 18, 2024, journalists Gertrude Mutyaba (NTV), Margaret Kayondo (Radio Simba), and Zainab Namusaazi (NBS TV) were attacked by Kyagulanyi’s bodyguards while covering the burial of a prominent businessman in Manja Village, Kiseeka Sub-County, Lwengo District.

In the report, Namusaazi recounts her ordeal, stating, “I was capturing the arrival of Kyagulanyi when his bodyguards started beating up Margret Kayondo, a Radio Simba journalist in Masaka. We were just doing our job, covering a public event, and suddenly we were under attack.”

The journalists suffered physical violence, with Namusaazi’s camera lens damaged by a bodyguard identified as Achilleo Kivumbi. Kayondo shared her traumatic experience, stating, “I was filming Bwanika’s speech when a bodyguard noticed and attacked me, demanding to know what I was recording. He forcefully took my phone, wrestled me down, and nobody intervened.”

The incident sparked widespread condemnation, with various media organizations and press freedom advocates demanding accountability from the NUP leadership.

The Greater Masaka Journalists Association (GREMAJA) issued a stern ultimatum, while the leader of the Uganda Parliamentary Press Association (UPPA) at the time, Francis Lubega, urged authorities to take immediate action to stop aggression from politicians’ bodyguards and security personnel.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) condemned the incident, stating, “Such actions are not only reprehensible but also a direct violation of the rights granted to the media and the press under the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Africa Program Coordinator, Muthoki Mumo, stressed that “Ugandan journalists must be allowed to work without fear of violence.”

The HRNJ-Uganda report comes at a time when Bobi’s accused lieutenants, namely Achilleo Kivumbi, Grace Wakabi, alias Smart-wa Bobi, and Gadafi Mugumya, are facing charges related to these violations of journalists’ rights in Masaka.

However, in their typical approach, the NUP leaders are engaging in a scapegoat campaign, claiming that the charges against Bobi’s security lieutenants are political persecution by their rivals, while now also endangering the lives of the affected journalists through potential mob justice.

The report underscores the urgent need for accountability and protection of journalists’ rights in Uganda and emphasizes the importance of upholding press freedom as a fundamental pillar of democracy and human rights.