Former Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda has disclosed that he is no longer in Saudi Arabia and is currently residing in an undisclosed East African country bordering Uganda.
The opposition politician made the revelation on Friday through a social media post while responding to the re-arrest of People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) president Muwanga Kivumbi, who was reportedly taken into custody again just hours after regaining his freedom.
According to Ssemujju, Uganda’s political atmosphere has changed considerably during the five months Kivumbi spent in Kitalya Prison. He claimed that those who openly criticise members of President Yoweri Museveni’s family increasingly face legal and political consequences.
He further alleged that security agencies are disregarding established legal procedures by transferring suspects to military authorities before they appear before civilian courts.
Ssemujju said he is using his time outside Uganda to observe and better understand what he called the country’s “new order.” However, he did not reveal the country where he is staying or when he intends to return home.
The former legislator travelled to Saudi Arabia in June to perform the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, explaining at the time that the trip caused him to miss one of opposition leader Erias Lukwago’s court sessions.
While in the holy city, Ssemujju shared videos in which he said he was praying for Uganda and reaffirmed that he was not intimidated by President Museveni or Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. He also accused the government of intensifying pressure on opposition leaders.
His exit from Uganda followed public remarks by Gen Muhoozi suggesting that Ssemujju and Nakawa West MP Joel Ssenyonyi would be “next” after Lukwago’s arrest, comments that fuelled speculation that the veteran opposition politician had temporarily left the country over security concerns.
