Chaos erupted outside Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court today after plain-clothed operatives whisked away two individuals including a local councilor shortly after proceedings in the treason and misprision of treason case against Dr. Kizza Besigye and others were adjourned.
The commotion occurred moments after Besigye’s legal team, led by Senior Counsel Martha Karua and Erias Lukwago, addressed the media.
Grade One Magistrate Jonathan Tiyo, sitting in for the absent Chief Magistrate Esther Nyadoi, had adjourned the trial to May 29, 2025.
As hundreds of attendees exited the courtroom, men in civilian attire swiftly bundled the two individuals into a white van, commonly referred to as a “drone,” which was parked opposite the court.
Witnesses reported the vehicle sped off in the direction of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).
Bystanders attempted to intervene, with one enraged supporter punching an officer before uniformed Joint Anti-Terrorism (JAT) personnel arrived and escorted the van away.
Counter-terrorism officers on site reportedly attempted to give chase but were unsuccessful.
Harold Kaija, Secretary-General of the Patriotic Front for Freedom a splinter faction of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) identified one of the abducted individuals as Katongole, a councillor from Kira Division.
Sources suggest that Katongole had earlier been involved in a confrontation when court attendees expelled a man suspected of covertly photographing the courtroom audience, labelling him a “state spy.”
Other accounts claim that Katongole and his companion were leading anti-government chants outside the court, declaring that President Yoweri Museveni and his son, the Chief of Defence Forces, would one day fall, and that Besigye’s faction would triumph.
By Alex Magala
21st May 2025
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