Political analyst and former intelligence chief, Charles Rwomushana, has been released by security, two days after he was picked up from Radio Simba studios in Kampala. Rwomushana was arrested on Saturday shortly after appearing on the station’s current affairs programme, Gasimbagane N’ebanamawulire, minutes after the show started at 10:00 am.
Witnesses at the station said several armed men dressed in civilian clothes, together with armed UPDF soldiers, surrounded the building, ordered staff to remain in place, forced their way into the on-air studio, confiscated Rwomushana’s phones and led him away. Dick Nvule, the host of Gasimbagane N’ebanamawulire, who was hosting the programme when Rwomushana was arrested, confirmed his release to Uganda Radio Network on Monday.
Nvule said Rwomushana called him shortly after his release and confirmed that he had been freed, but declined to disclose where he had been held, his current whereabouts, or the reasons for his arrest. “We have been trying to know his whereabouts, but he called me this morning and told me that they released him last night, but he did not tell me where he was being held or the offences against him,” Nvule said.
Another source confirmed the development on condition of anonymity. Rwomushana couldn’t be reached by the time of publishing this story, while efforts to obtain an official explanation from security agencies over his arrest and release were unsuccessful. Calls to UPDF Spokesperson Col. Chris Magezi and Uganda Police Force Spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke went unanswered.
Rwomushana’s arrest came days after he used the same radio programme to comment on reports of a power struggle within the First Family involving Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba and his brother-in-law Odrek Rwabwogo. Rwomushana, a former head of political intelligence at State House, is a regular political commentator and has previously been arrested on different occasions.
In July 2020, he was arrested outside NBS TV after appearing on a talk show for allegedly violating COVID-19 curfew restrictions. In 2016, he was detained over social media posts linked to the disappearance of Christopher Aine, an aide to former presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi. In recent weeks, Rwomushana’s name has also resurfaced in court documents in the treason case involving Dr Kizza Besigye and Hajji Obeid Lutale, in which the prosecution alleges that he attended meetings in Brussels. He has not been formally charged in that case-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
