Lawyers of the political party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), have vowed to take legal action against the Uganda Police Force, the army (Uganda People’s Defence Forces, or UPDF), and the Attorney General in the High Court for the destruction of their property following a security raid on their party headquarters in Kampala.
Security forces visited NUP headquarters at Makerere Kavule and the Kamwokya leadership school on the pretext of searching for incriminating evidence against some party leaders.
One of the party’s lawyers, Mr. George Musisi, stated that security personnel had unlawfully entered their premises without a valid court-issued search warrant, rendering their actions illegal and unacceptable.
“There was a viable reason to show us a search warrant. We are an organization with known leadership and legal representation; they shouldn’t have forcibly evicted everyone. The purpose of a search is to ensure that relevant individuals are present if it is for evidential purposes,” Mr. Musisi began.
“This week, we are taking the police and army to the High Court not only for intrusion but also for robbery and malicious damage to our property, including computers, CCTV cameras, the theft of Shs32m, and furniture,” Mr. Musisi added.
He went on to say, “We believe these operations are not aimed at investigating a criminal case but rather at intimidation. Security forces are being used as a coercive arm of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) to interfere in political contests and suppress legitimate opposition,” accusing the ruling party too.
Ms Doreen Kaija, the administrator of the NUP Leadership School, reported that property such as laptops, windows, doors, cameras, and library books had been destroyed, while Shs2m in cash had also been stolen.
Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, writing on X (formerly Twitter), claimed that some of the stolen items had been traced via GPS tracking to police headquarters in Naguru and the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) headquarters in Mbuya, Kampala.
“We have traced some of the stolen computers, phones, and other electronic gadgets to the Police Headquarters at Naguru, while others have been taken to CMI (DIS) headquarters at Mbuya, according to the GPS on these devices,” Mr. Kyagulanyi posted.
He added, “There are also attempts to hack into some of these devices. Thankfully, our IT teams are working hard to protect our data, except for what they managed to seize in hard copy. These criminals often forget that they are dealing with a more sophisticated generation! We have been monitoring all their criminal actions in real-time.”
This legal challenge is presumably the litmus test for the independence of the judiciary.
Under Ugandan law, the Criminal Procedure Code Act permits police to execute a search warrant on private property. This act outlines the procedures for obtaining a warrant, requiring an officer to provide sworn evidence to a court, and demonstrating reasonable grounds to believe that relevant evidence may be found on the premises
