By KT Reporter
A section of residents in Luuka Town Council, Luuka District, are reliving painful memories from November 18, 2020—the day the National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi, held his first rally in their area. Kyagulanyi had planned to address supporters at the Luuka District headquarters. Instead, he was arrested and whisked off to Nalufenya police station in Jinja City.
His detention sparked off nationwide protests that, according to police reports, left more than 54 people dead. For many in Luuka, the events of that day left scars—some physical, others deeply emotional. Annet Musubika remembers that morning vividly. She had spent the night of November 17 battling pregnancy complications and had gone to Kiyunga Health Centre IV for treatment.
“The health centre is just opposite Luuka District headquarters,” she says. “As I waited for medical attention, the teargas fumes started spreading. I collapsed, and when they resuscitated me, I had lost my six-month-old fetus. That memory will never leave me.”
Sarah Kibikyo, a market vendor, says she was among the crowds eager to see Kyagulanyi in person. “He was a renowned artist, and many of us admired him. We turned up in big numbers,” Kibikyo recalls. But moments later, chaos erupted as security forces fired teargas and live bullets into the crowd.
“I couldn’t run fast enough. I fell flat on the ground, and the next thing I knew, I was in a hospital bed,” she says. A nurse later informed her she had been hit by a teargas canister. Kibikyo spent more than a month in hospital. “The wound turned septic. I still carry the scar to this day,” she says, pulling back her sleeve to reveal the mark.
At Kiyunga Health Centre IV, medical staff were stretched beyond capacity. A nurse, who preferred not to be named, says she had never encountered such a situation in her ten years of service. “Dozens of people came in with wounds all over their bodies. The situation was overwhelming. Even members of the public had to help us carry patients into the emergency room,” she recalls.
Teargas even seeped into the wards. “We had to refer some critical patients to Iganga General Hospital and nearby private facilities because the environment was no longer safe,” she adds. Four years later, Kyagulanyi has returned to the very grounds of Luuka District headquarters.
For many residents, the sight brings back memories of trauma they continue to live with—memories etched in permanent scars and painful losses. Oliver Namwase, the NUP flagbearer for the Luuka Woman MP seat, says their team has this time secured all necessary clearances from police and district leadership to ensure peaceful campaigns. “Kyagulanyi is a champion of human rights,” Namwase says.
“He is the leader we believe should be entrusted with the country’s top office.”
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