The Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) on Friday staged a demonstration at the Turkish Embassy in Kampala, demanding the extradition of Ugandan government critic Fred Lumbuye from Türkiye.
The protest was organised following instructions from PLU Chairman and Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, with PLU Secretary General and MP Twalla Fadil leading the mobilisation. Hundreds of supporters reportedly took part in the demonstration.
Fadil said the protesters wanted to express their dissatisfaction with the Turkish government over Lumbuye's continued presence in the country.
“Today, as instructed by our Chairman @mkainerugaba, we held a successful and peaceful demonstration at the Turkish Embassy, expressing our disappointment with the Turkish Government for harbouring criminals and enemies of our peace and unity as a country,” Fadil said.
He called on Ankara to extradite Lumbuye, arguing that doing so would demonstrate respect for Uganda's sovereignty and help protect bilateral relations between the two countries.
“We asked them to extradite Lumbuye as soon as possible if they truly value our bilateral relations and respect our sovereignty,” he said.
Lumbuye, a Ugandan political blogger and government critic who has lived in Türkiye, has been at the centre of a dispute between Kampala and Ankara. Ugandan authorities have previously accused him of offences including harmful propaganda, incitement and cybercrimes, while his online commentary has frequently criticised President Yoweri Museveni's government.
Fadil also opposed Lumbuye's reported application for asylum in Türkiye. He accused the blogger of seeking asylum to avoid facing Uganda's judicial system, and urged Turkish authorities to reject the application and facilitate his return.
“We asked them to respect our judicial system and stop granting Lumbuye the asylum status he has applied for through his lawyers in order to escape justice. He should come and face justice,” Fadil said.
The PLU official further warned that the group could organise a larger demonstration if Turkey failed to respond to its demands.
“If they do not respond as they have promised, next time we will shut down the Embassy with a wall of PLU supporters,” he said.
The Turkish Embassy had announced it would close on September 18 because of the planned demonstration.
Fadil thanked PLU supporters for attending the protest in large numbers before signalling a return to the organisation's ongoing political mobilisation and endorsement activities.