KAMPALA, Uganda — The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces has rejected allegations that its chief, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, abused a detained novelist and government critic, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, following an opinion article published by The New York Times examining surveillance and political repression in Uganda.
In a statement issued Saturday, acting defence public information director Col. Chris Magezi said Kainerugaba had never met Rukirabashaija and dismissed the allegations as false. He also defended the general’s military record, the conduct of the UPDF and Uganda’s constitutional framework, while warning against what he described as external interference in the country’s affairs.
The response followed an Oct. 8 opinion essay by Megan K. Stack, titled “The Authoritarian Future Is Already Here.” The article examines the use of surveillance technology in Uganda, alleged abuses against government critics and the growing political influence of Kainerugaba, who is the son of President Yoweri Museveni.
One of the central accounts in the essay comes from Rukirabashaija, a Ugandan lawyer and novelist now living in Germany. He told Stack that he was repeatedly detained and tortured and alleged that Kainerugaba visited him twice while he was in custody.
According to the article, Rukirabashaija said that during the first alleged visit, Kainerugaba ordered him to bend over, remove his trousers and kneel while the encounter was recorded on a phone. He also alleged that during a second visit, the general offered him money to keep quiet about the abuse he said he had suffered.
Rukirabashaija told Stack that beatings and flogging left him with fractured ankle bones, damaged kidneys and scars across his back. These claims form part of his account of the treatment he says he experienced in detention.
Magezi rejected the allegations, saying Kainerugaba had never met Rukirabashaija. He described the account as fabricated and argued that the article repeated what he called longstanding opposition and activist narratives against the Ugandan government.
The UPDF spokesperson also questioned the credibility of reports about the alleged abuse, saying serious accusations required evidence and proper verification rather than hearsay or politically motivated accounts.
Defending Kainerugaba’s record, Magezi described him as a decorated military officer with decades of service and achievements. He said it was wrong to judge the general’s career on social media remarks and what he characterised as misleading media reports.
Magezi also defended Uganda’s political and legal institutions, saying the country operates under a constitutional and democratic system. He argued that criticism of individual remarks by public officials should take account of the wider legal and institutional framework.
On the military’s role in civilian affairs, Magezi said the UPDF operates within the law and would continue supporting civil authorities when required, including in maintaining law and order. He added that service members who break the law would be subject to disciplinary measures and accountability.
The spokesperson said Ugandan courts remained functional and that opposition figures had used them to pursue legal challenges. He concluded by saying the UPDF would not tolerate external interference in Uganda’s affairs.
Beyond the allegations against Kainerugaba, Stack’s essay examines claims that Ugandan authorities have used surveillance technology to monitor political opponents, journalists and activists.
The article cites a $126 million closed circuit television network supplied by Chinese telecommunications company Huawei and a vehicle tracking project involving Russian company Joint Stock Company Global Security. It also describes police documents that, according to Rukirabashaija, detailed the extraction of data from his phone.
Stack named Israeli digital intelligence company Cellebrite and Canadian company Magnet Forensics in connection with tools allegedly used to examine his digital information. She reported that Cellebrite had stopped selling its technology in Uganda, citing its ethics standards and risk assessment framework. Magnet Forensics did not respond to her request for comment.
The essay also examines allegations of surveillance and intimidation involving opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, and his supporters. It discusses broader concerns about arrests, political violence and the treatment of government critics, drawing on accounts from opposition figures and civil society activists.
Stack further places Uganda’s political situation in an international context, examining the role of foreign governments and technology companies in providing surveillance systems and the effect of changing Western policies toward human rights and democratic governance.
Magezi criticised previous reporting on Kainerugaba by The Telegraph, The Wall Street Journal and The Economist, arguing that Western media outlets had portrayed the general unfairly. He said Uganda’s future leadership would be determined by Ugandans.
The UPDF statement did not address every surveillance and human rights concern raised in the essay. Its central position was that the allegations against Kainerugaba were false, that the military operates within Uganda’s laws and that the country’s affairs should not be subject to external interference.
The military’s denial contrasts with Rukirabashaija’s account as reported by Stack. The allegations concerning the general’s alleged visits and conduct in detention remain disputed.
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