Masaka City Woman MP Justine Nameere has given a detailed account of her abduction, saying she was rescued after President Yoweri Museveni intervened and dispatched a separate security team to secure her release.
Speaking during an interview on Bukedde TV, Nameere described hours of uncertainty in the hands of armed captors who, she said, later began questioning the intelligence that led to her arrest.
She claimed that by the time the presidential intervention took place, confusion had already set in among the operatives holding her.
“My captors were already starting to regret it. I could hear them arguing with other people on the phone, that they had been misled,” she said.
Nameere said the group appeared to be acting on claims that she had received money allegedly linked to parliamentary political mobilisation and intended to influence legislative decisions against a political figure identified only as Jacob.
“The story they got was that I had Hon Among’s cash and was to distribute it as bribes to members of parliament to boycott Jacob,” she said.
The legislator dismissed the allegation, insisting it was fabricated and lacked any factual basis. She further argued that the claims did not align with her personal or political relationships.
Nameere specifically pointed to her close ties with Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs Jacob Oboth Oboth, saying she could not have engaged in any activity that would undermine him.
“I told them, whoever had given them that information was mad because I could not antagonise Hon Oboth, a person that even attended my own marriage ceremony. He is more like a father to me. I know Jacob, I have been to his home,” she said.
She maintained that the allegations were inconsistent with her political and personal associations, suggesting that those behind the intelligence had misrepresented her actions and intentions.
Nameere further stated that her release only came after the intervention of President Museveni, who allegedly directed another security unit to trace and secure her.
According to her account, the turning point came when her captors began receiving contradictory instructions from different sources, prompting internal disagreements over the legitimacy of the operation.
The incident, which has drawn attention in Uganda’s political circles, has raised fresh questions about internal security operations and the handling of politically sensitive arrests.
While Nameere described it as an abduction based on misinformation, authorities have not publicly released a detailed explanation of the circumstances surrounding the operation.
The episode also comes amid heightened political tension in Masaka and surrounding regions following recent electoral activities, where competition and rival claims have intensified scrutiny of local political actors.