Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi has strongly denied police and presidential accusations that he mobilized supporters to attack security forces with machetes, insisting the violence in the district originated from a late-night security raid on his residence that left about 10 people dead.
Speaking to journalists at his home in Bugoye village, Gombe Sub-county, Kivumbi described the allegations as “false and malicious” fabrications designed to justify a brutal crackdown on his supporters.
“Apart from blocking me from campaigning and arresting my supporters, they were not satisfied. They later decided to come to my home and attack people who had gathered peacefully after the election,” he said.
Kivumbi explained that his supporters had gathered at his residence following preliminary polling station results suggesting he had won the parliamentary seat. They were preparing to travel to the district headquarters for the official declaration when armed men—some in military and police uniforms, others in civilian clothes—surrounded the compound late at night.
“They first fired bullets in the air, which caused panic. People scattered in all directions, and many ran into my garage for safety,” Kivumbi recounted.
He alleged that security personnel then opened direct fire on those hiding in the garage, killing around ten people.
Kivumbi said he survived by hiding inside the house and believes the operation targeted him personally—either to seize his declaration forms or to arrest or eliminate him.
He dismissed claims by Inspector General of Police Abas Byakagaba and President Yoweri Museveni that he led an armed assault on a police station and tally centre.
“I was shocked to hear them say I attacked police with machetes. There is no police station in this village. Is my home now a police station?” Kivumbi asked sarcastically.
The MP, who ultimately lost his seat to independent candidate Eriasa Mukiibi (former Sunday Monitor editor) in the January 15 polls, revealed he possesses CCTV footage purportedly showing security operatives firing at his gate and later searching for bodies.
“I have camera recordings clearly showing security operatives shooting and later looking for bodies,” he stated, renewing his call for an independent investigation.
Kivumbi emphasized that the tragedy has eclipsed any political outcome: “Winning the election is no longer important to me. What matters is that innocent people lost their lives in my home.”
He announced plans to pursue legal action against those responsible.
Currently living in fear of arrest or abduction, Kivumbi said he refuses to go into hiding: “I know they can pick me up at any moment, but I will not because I have not committed any crime.”
The competing narratives—police describing a defensive response to an attempted attack by “ferried” outsiders, versus Kivumbi’s account of an unprovoked assault—have intensified political tensions in Butambala following one of the deadliest election-related incidents in the district.
