The Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has publicly confirmed that Edward Ssebufu, popularly known as Eddie Mutwe—the personal bodyguard of National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine—is currently being held by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
In a series of controversial posts on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Gen Muhoozi claimed that Mutwe is being detained in the basement of a UPDF facility. He further stated, with apparent sarcasm, that Mutwe is “learning Runyankore” and mocked his appearance by sharing images of his shaved head and beards.
“He is in my basement. Learning Runyankore. You [Bobi Wine] are next! I captured NUP’s military commander like a grasshopper (Nsenene). If they keep provoking us, we shall discipline them even more,” Muhoozi posted.
Mutwe had reportedly gone missing on Sunday evening after he was abducted by individuals wearing a mix of civilian clothing and military fatigues at Kiwango Trading Centre in Goma Division, Mukono Municipality. He had just attended a meeting in nearby Namweezi Village when he was captured.
Following his disappearance, Bobi Wine took to social media demanding his immediate release. NUP lawyers, including Godfrey Musisi and Samuel Mulindwa Muyizzi, searched various police stations across Kampala and Mukono, only to be told that Mutwe was not in police custody.
Police spokesperson ACP Kituuma Rusoke stated that he was unaware of any police station detaining Mutwe. This left the NUP leadership and the public in uncertainty—until Gen Muhoozi’s online confirmation revealed that the military was holding him, without disclosing the legal grounds or charges.
In further posts, Gen Muhoozi ridiculed Mutwe’s condition in detention, saying, “Eddie is looking very smart these days. The boys have tuned him well. He salutes Mzee’s picture every day before breakfast. I can’t release Eddie now. It will be unfair to me and him.”
He added disturbing remarks regarding Mutwe’s treatment: “If you see Eddie’s head now, he looks like an egg. Totally clean. The beards were the first thing the boys removed. After he finished crying and urinating.”
In a particularly alarming statement, Muhoozi suggested that Bobi Wine was his next target, writing, “Next is Kabobi! I have never joked in my life. I don’t know why people think my tweets are jokes.”
These statements have drawn widespread condemnation, both for their tone and for the implications of extrajudicial detention, ethnic references, and threats of physical abuse.
The development comes shortly after Gen Muhoozi reshuffled leadership within the military’s intelligence apparatus, assigning Maj Gen Richard Otto to head the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), replacing Maj Gen James Birungi, who was redeployed to the Mountain Division.
The situation has raised serious concerns among human rights advocates and opposition figures, who are now demanding transparency, accountability, and the immediate release of Eddie Mutwe
