Museveni Defends Torture Victim Stephen Nuwagaba, Slams Andrew Mwenda

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has strongly defended a young man identified as Stephen Nuwagaba, describing him as a traumatized victim of severe torture and maiming at the hands of elements within Uganda’s security agencies.

In a lengthy missive released on Monday, August 3, 2026, the President issued a stern warning to veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda, accusing him and The Independent Magazine of attempting to disorient public attention away from alleged extrajudicial abuses and systemic corruption within state security organs.

“Nuwagaba Came to Me as a Fugitive and Victim of Torture”

The President’s statement comes amidst weeks of public debate sparked by reports in The Independent, which portrayed Nuwagaba a man in his mid-twenties as a potential national security threat. The magazine had urged the President to investigate Nuwagaba’s identity documents, alleged intimidation of high-ranking government officials, and use of armed guards.

However, President Museveni strongly rejected these assertions, clarifying that Nuwagaba sought presidential protection after suffering severe physical abuse and death threats from compromised security operatives.

“Nuwagaba is a young man in his mid-twenties who came to me as a fugitive, a victim of torture and maiming whom some elements in the Security Services were trying to silence, including threatening with death. He has actually been a patient on account of torture and maiming and trauma because of the torture for many of the months he has been under my care,” President Museveni stated.

The President disclosed that he personally facilitated Nuwagaba’s medical care, arranging treatment both within Uganda and abroad. He added that while some of the security personnel allegedly responsible are already facing charges in court, Nuwagaba continues to carry long-term physical injuries.

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“Is This What We Fought For?” — Museveni Calls Out Security Impunity

Questioning the morality of security officers engaged in extrajudicial acts, President Museveni challenged whether such brutality aligns with the fundamental values of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) liberation struggle.

“The terrible thing is that these alleged torturers and maimers were belonging to our security forces. Is this what we and the People of Uganda fought for?” Museveni asked.

The Commander-in-Chief reiterated that the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) and sister security services must maintain strict ideological discipline when confronting crime, emphasizing that torture and extrajudicial killings are neither strategic nor morally defensible.

Dismissing Mwenda’s Allegations: “Nuwagaba is Not Uganda’s Main Problem”

President Museveni accused Andrew Mwenda of manufacturing a false “national emergency” around Nuwagaba to shield corrupt officials and divert focus from presssing national issues, such as financial leakages in the Parish Development Model (PDM) and infrastructure contracts.

“Having failed to destroy our promising pharmaceutical industry by calling our innovators Magoola and Senfuka con-men and declaring me senile, he has now discovered a new national emergency in Uganda. This is the young man known as Nuwagaba Stephen,” Museveni wrote.

“The reality on the ground is that the main problem of Uganda is not Nuwagaba seizing State House and the Security Forces, but the criminals, including some in the Security Forces and other organs, that have been blocking the flow of information about the criminals.”

The President added that if Nuwagaba has personal flaws or character issues, he will account for them individually, but insisted that personal shortcomings should not be conflated with the severe human rights violations committed against him.