By Tumwesigye Anslem
A peaceful campaign rally by National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulany known as Bobi Wine, turned violent yesterday when police and military personnel launched a brutal assault on thousands of supporters in Kawempe Division, northern Kampala.
The incident happened shortly after Bobi Wine concluded his first rally of the day at Growers Playground in Kawempe South. As the crowd began walking with him toward his second venue in Kawempe North, security forces suddenly fired multiple rounds of tear gas and charged at the supporters with batons, tasers, and rifle butts.
Videos recorded by supporters show officers beating people indiscriminately, including women, children, and the elderly. One of the most widely shared clips shows an elderly woman in her seventies collapsing from tear gas inhalation; a young man risked his own safety to carry her away from the chaos.
Several supporters were left with serious injuries — broken limbs, deep cuts, severe bruising, and breathing difficulties caused by the heavy tear gas. At least a dozen people required hospital treatment.
NUP officials described the attack as deliberate state terror. Party spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi said the supporters were unarmed and had not provoked the police in any way.
Police spokesperson ACP Kituuma Rusoke claimed officers were attacked first with stones at Bwaise Roundabout and that six policemen were injured. He insisted that processions had been banned and that force was used only to restore order.
However, eyewitness accounts and video evidence show that tear gas was fired into the crowd before any stones were thrown.
The violence in Kawempe is the latest in a long series of heavy-handed crackdowns on Bobi Wine’s campaign events across the country. Similar scenes have played out in Arua, Mbarara, Lira, and other areas since he began his 2026 presidential bid.
As night fell, military units sealed off the NUP headquarters at Makerere Kavule, while Bobi Wine addressed his supporters online:
“Kawempe showed overwhelming love today. The regime responded with cowardly brutality. Every tear gas canister they fire, every baton they swing, is another reason why Uganda must vote for change in 2026.”
Despite the repression, supporters say the attacks only strengthen their resolve. One injured youth, speaking from a clinic bed with his arm in a sling, told reporters: “They can beat us today, but they cannot beat us in 2026.”
