By KT Reporter
A National Unity Platform (NUP) mobiliser and parliamentary aspirant in the Sebei sub-region has allegedly been abducted by personnel believed to be attached to the Special Forces Command (SFC).
The missing aspirant, Kalifhani Chemutai, a former Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldier and contender for the Kapchorwa Municipality parliamentary seat, was reportedly picked up from his resort home in Kapchorwa on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, as President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni held a campaign rally at Kapchorwa Boma Grounds.
According to Caleb Noah Cherotich, the NUP coordinator for the Sebei sub-region and an aspirant for the Kween Constituency seat, uniformed SFC personnel first detained Chemutai at the UPDF military barracks in Kapchorwa before transferring him to Kapchorwa Central Police Station (CPS). However, Cherotich says unidentified men later returned to the station that night and whisked him away to an unknown location.
“Police told us that Chemutai was picked again by unknown men who claimed to be security operatives. Since then, no one knows where he was taken,” Cherotich told URN.
Chemutai’s sister, Betty Chemutai, said she attempted to deliver breakfast to her brother the following morning but was turned away.
“Police told me that the same people who brought him had taken him away. We don’t know where he is now,” she said.
However, Fredmark Chesang, the Sipi Region Police Spokesperson, dismissed claims of an abduction, confirming that Chemutai had been arrested by SFC personnel for alleged possession of military gumboots and impersonation after leaving the army.
“He was not kidnapped. He was arrested by the SFC and brought into our custody. He was later transferred to Moroto, where his case is being handled by the court martial,” Chesang said.
The incident has triggered outrage among NUP supporters in the Sebei sub-region, who accuse security agencies of targeting opposition candidates ahead of the 2026 general elections.
Harriet Chemutai Simba, the NUP Electoral Commission Chairperson and Women MP candidate for Kapchorwa District, condemned the arrest as unconstitutional.
“We demand that the government reveals the whereabouts of our candidate. These continued arrests and disappearances undermine the democratic rights of Ugandans, especially during the election period,” Simba said.
She further alleged that Chemutai had been pressured to denounce his affiliation with NUP prior to his arrest.
“We were told he was forced to swear allegiance to the NRM and put on a yellow T-shirt bearing the President’s portrait in exchange for his freedom, but he refused. This is political persecution,” she claimed.
Simba appealed to the Electoral Commission and human rights organisations to intervene and protect opposition candidates from what she described as escalating intimidation and harassment.
As of Thursday evening, Chemutai’s family and party officials said they had not established his exact location. Police maintain that he is being held in Moroto to face charges before the court martial.
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