Police have arrested Butambala County legislator Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi following violent incidents that occured in the district after the 2026 general elections.

The arrest was confirmed by Lydia Tushabe, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Katonga region.

Lydia Tushabe said that Kivumbi is being held in custody and will be produced in court. 

According to police, the arrest is linked to recent episodes of political violence in Butambala, where security forces clashed with civilians in the aftermath of the vote which led to death of ten people.

“The Uganda Police Force would like to confirm the arrest of the Butambala County legislator, Hon. Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi. He is currently in police custody and will be arraigned before court in due course,” said Lydia Tushabe, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Katonga region.

She added, “His arrest is in connection with recent incidents of political violence in Butambala.”

Security agencies maintain that the violence was triggered by an attempted attack on a police station and a vote-tallying centre by groups allegedly armed with pangas, shortly after Kivumbi lost the parliamentary race.

President Yoweri Museveni while addressing the matter after the elections in Rwakitura, said intelligence reports had indicated that opposition members had planned to cause chaos in areas where their candidates lost. He singled out Butambala as one of the flashpoints.

“In Butambala, Kivumbi was defeated, and the plan everywhere was that where NUP lost, gangs armed with pangas would attack polling stations,” Museveni said.

He added,“This was attempted when he was defeated, and seven of them were shot dead.”

Museveni defended the actions of the security forces, arguing that they acted to protect key installations and prevent a breakdown of law and order.

Kivumbi, however, while appearing on several media rejected the government’s account and insisted that no attack on a police station took place. He said the victims were his supporters who had gathered peacefully at his home as they waited for election results.

“They were killed inside my house,” Kivumbi earlier said in response to the allegations.

He added, “There is no police station in this village. Is my home now a police station?”

He accused security personnel of storming his residence at night and opening fire without justification, describing the deaths as unlawful killings. Kivumbi has demanded an independent investigation into the incident and accountability for those responsible.

While authorities have put the death toll at seven, Kivumbi and some local leaders say the number could be higher, claiming that up to ten people from his campaign team were killed during the operation.

Police leaders have defended the operation, saying their officers acted on intelligence that the group intended to launch coordinated attacks and that some suspects have admitted being mobilised for violence. Investigations, they say, are still ongoing.

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Winnie Byanyima, wife of former presidential candidate Colonel Kizza Besigye has revealed that her husband is seriously ill and now in hands of the army rather than civilian prison authority.

Besigye has been held for over a year on trumped-up charges of treason.

“Dr. Besigye is seriously ill and has been denied timely and adequate medical care. Last night, after a sharp deterioration in his condition, he was rushed to the clinic of his personal doctor, where he was treated and then returned to prison late at night,” Byanyima said.

She said the prison authorities did not inform her of his condition, and she learned about it through other sources. “When I saw him, Dr. Besigye was extremely weak, shaking, running a high temperature, and suffering from severe abdominal pain,” she said.

Byanyima described the presence of both prison officers and a plainclothes military intelligence officer during her husband’s treatment. “At the clinic, Dr. Besigye was guarded by six prison officers and a plainclothes military intelligence officer, a woman who concealed her face with a large white shawl. When he was discharged, Dr. Besigye was marched to a basement car park and bundled into a prison pickup truck, squashed between two warders,” she said.

She also criticized the lack of access to proper medical facilities, saying her husband is now restricted to the prison sick bay, which she described as ill-equipped. “The Commissioner of Prisons has now denied Dr. Besigye access to a fully equipped medical facility, allowing only his personal doctor to see him at the prison sick bay,” Byanyima said.

Byanyima outlined other restrictions placed on Dr. Besigye, including solitary confinement, limited physical activity, and confinement to a small cell with little sunlight. She said he has been denied bail four times and remains on remand while facing charges she calls fabricated.

“I therefore demand the immediate release of Dr. Kizza Besigye, so that his family and doctors can care for him properly. He is innocent and these political games must stop. His continued detention, mistreatment, and denial of medical care place his life at grave risk,” she said.

However, Prisons spokesperson Frank Baine Mayanja while appearing before the media dismissed reports claiming that Kizza Besigye was rushed to hospital overnight in critical condition.

He confirmed that while Besigye did see his doctor at night, his health is not deteriorating.

“The hospital visit was part of Besigye’s routine monthly medical check-up. He has since returned to Luzira Prison and is continuing with his normal daily activities,” Baine said.

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In a new twist in parliamentary politics, Bushenyi Ishaka Municipality Member of Parliament Hajji Iddi Bassajja has officially declared his intention to contest for the position of Deputy Speaker of Parliament of Uganda for the 2026–2031 term, setting the stage for a potential contest with the incumbent, Thomas Tayebwa.

In an exclusive interview with Eagle Online, Hajji Iddi Bassajja confirmed that he is the official candidate for the position of deputy speaker.  “Please don’t quote anyone else. I am telling you verbatim, I am the official candidate for the position of deputy speaker. And should anyone else doubt, please confirm to them that I have said so and I am available and ready to confirm.”

Additionally, earlier on his X (formerly Twitter), Bassajja expressed gratitude to voters in Bushenyi Ishaka Municipality for entrusting him with a parliamentary mandate during the January 15, 2026, elections.

“Allow me to extend my sincere gratitude to the people of Bushenyi Ishaka Municipality for the trust and mandate you gave me on the 15th of January 2026, to elect me as your Member of Parliament,” he said.

The newly elected legislator said his decision to seek the powerful parliamentary position is driven by a desire to serve with humility, honesty, and national commitment.

“I hereby declare my candidature for the position of Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda 2026–2031,” Bassajja announced.

Bassajja, who is the son of prominent businessman Hajji Hassan Basajjabalaba, pledged a principled and inclusive leadership should he be entrusted with the office. He said his leadership would be firmly anchored in constitutionalism and the aspirations of Ugandans.

“I commit and pledge resolute, principled leadership anchored in inclusivity, constitutionalism, and the relentless pursuit of the aspirations of our people,” he said.

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