Nalongo Zawedde Lubwama, the wife of prominent lawyer and politician Erias Lukwago, has given a detailed and emotional account of the early morning military operation that led to her husband’s controversial arrest, describing a sudden raid that unfolded shortly after the family had shared breakfast.
Speaking during a press briefing, Zawedde said the incident began without warning, with armed personnel allegedly breaching their home perimeter in the early hours of the morning.
“He had just finished having breakfast. We were alerted that some soldiers had unlawfully gained access to our premises. We heard the soldiers cut the wire over our fence,” she said, recounting the moment security forces arrived at their residence.
According to her account, the operatives approached the house quietly at first before making contact at the door, an approach she initially mistook for a normal family interruption.
“They knocked gently on our door and we thought it was our children. I saw they were many soldiers in [elite Special Forces Command] SFC uniforms. One of them was not in uniform and I think he was the commander,” she added.
Zawedde further described a tense confrontation as she attempted to prevent the officers from entering the bedroom where Lukwago was reportedly located at the time of the raid. She alleged that her efforts to resist were met with force.
“I tried to resist and [the plain-clothed officer] twisted my arm before he kicked and fouled me to the ground,” she said.
Her statement adds a new layer of detail to earlier reports that armed operatives entered the premises and took Lukwago into custody in a military-style operation involving heavily armed personnel.
She also recounted how the officers allegedly searched the house and demanded compliance from the family during the operation, including the surrender of Lukwago’s mobile phone.
“They looked around and found nothing because we don’t even have any scary weapons like a gun in this house,” she narrated, suggesting the search did not uncover any incriminating items.
The account by Zawedde comes amid growing political and legal debate surrounding the arrest, which has drawn criticism from opposition figures and human rights advocates calling for clarity on Lukwago’s whereabouts and the legal grounds for his detention.