By Staff Reporter | Kampala, Uganda | December 28, 2022
The family of Ronah Byamukama, a former Kyambogo University student and vocal supporter of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), is in anguish after their daughter was abducted, detained, and tortured under mysterious circumstances believed to involve state security operatives.
Ronah, 24, was forcefully taken from her home in Kamwokya, Kampala on the night of December 15, 2022, by four unidentified men in plain clothes. Eyewitnesses say the men, armed and using unmarked vehicles, offered no explanation or warrant for her arrest.
“They knocked at the door aggressively around midnight. When I opened, they shoved me aside and went straight for Ronah. She screamed for help but they dragged her away like a criminal,” recounts Ronah’s tearful mother, Mrs. Angella Twesigomwe
For two harrowing weeks, Ronah remained missing. Her parents filed a missing person report at Bubare Police Station, but they say the response from authorities was not only cold but threatening.
“They told us to stop poking our noses in matters we don’t understand,” says Mr. Charles Byarugaba, a secondary school teacher who was later suspended from his duties “pending investigations” into his daughter’s political activities.
On New Year’s Eve, Ronah was found dumped near her home, unconscious and severely bruised. Medical reports seen by this reporter indicate multiple signs of torture, internal injuries, and psychological trauma. Ronah herself has told close friends she was held in what she later identified as a “government safe house” one of several illegal detention facilities allegedly used by Uganda’s security apparatus to detain opposition voices.
“I was beaten, humiliated, and touched inappropriately by men. The fear of being raped or killed kept me awake for days. They never told me why I was there,” she confided in a friend who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
This is not Ronah’s first run-in with state brutality. In 2019, while at Kyambogo University, she was arrested during a protest against the impeachment of then-Guild President Jonathan Tundulu, a fellow supporter of the People Power movement, now formalized as NUP. She was accused of “financing subversive activities” after she helped fund campaign materials and organize peaceful demonstrations.
Political observers say Ronah’s case is not isolated.
“The state has consistently used abductions and torture to silence youth affiliated with NUP. We have documented dozens of such cases,” says Sarah Kagingo, a human rights advocate with the NGO Citizens for Constitutional Justice (CCJ).
Indeed, Rhonah’s case echoes that of John Bosco Tumwesigye, a Makerere University student leader who was abducted in June 2022 and later found with broken limbs in Masaka. In a similar case, Brenda Nabwire, an NUP mobilizer in Jinja, went missing for nine days before resurfacing with trauma and burns she attributes to electric shocks.
Security forces have denied responsibility, often dismissing such reports as “stage-managed propaganda.” However, no meaningful investigations have been conducted into the wave of abductions targeting opposition supporters.
Rhonah’s mother, a small-scale farmer, says the family now lives in constant fear.
“They took our daughter, tortured her, and left her to die. Now they are watching us. Every time I step outside, I feel eyes following me. This is not how Ugandans should live.”
Her father, struggling to hold back tears, adds:
“We raised Ronah to speak her mind. She believed in justice and change. But now we fear her courage is costing us everything.”
Despite the trauma, the family is demanding answers and calling on Parliament, civil society, and religious leaders to intervene.
“Our daughter is not a terrorist. She is a student, a patriot who only wanted a better country. Why is she being punished for that?” Mr. Byarugaba asks.
In response to the latest wave of state violence, including Ronah Byamukama’s abduction and torture, the National Unity Platform (NUP) has issued a firm condemnation, accusing the regime of “systematic elimination” of political dissent.
“What happened to Ronah is not an isolated incident—it is part of a calculated campaign of fear, torture, and intimidation targeting our supporters across the country,” said David Lewis Rubongoya, Secretary General of the National Unity Platform.
“This regime has turned Uganda into a hunting ground for anyone who dares to speak out. Our youth are being abducted, tortured, and in some cases disappeared without a trace. We demand the immediate end to these violations and accountability for those responsible. The blood and suffering of innocent Ugandans will not be silenced.”
Rubongoya also called on religious leaders, civil society organizations, and the international community to “take notice of the pain Ugandans are enduring” and to “stand on the right side of history.”
