The Ugandan military has confirmed it is holding a Catholic priest who went missing nearly two weeks ago, accusing him of involvement in “violent subversive activities”.
In a brief statement, the military said Father Deusdedit Ssekabira had been arrested, was in “lawful custody” and would be charged in court.
The Catholic Diocese in the city of Masaka previously said Father Ssekabira was “kidnapped by men in Uganda Army uniform”. The church has not responded to the military’s accusations.
As Uganda prepares to hold elections next month, it faces growing scrutiny from human rights groups over reports of enforced disappearances and prolonged detention without trial.
The Masaka Diocese raised the alarm about Father Ssekabira on Saturday.
In a statement, Masaka Bishop Serverus Jjumba said the priest was taken on 3 December and that his disappearence was a “grievous wound inflicted on Masaka Diocese, the entire Catholic Church and Father Ssekabira’s family”.
“[The diocese] and our lawyers are still doing whatever is in our means to get back our priest unharmed,” he wrote.
On Sunday, hours before the military confirmed they had detained Father Ssekabira, the national police force said they had noted social media reports of the priest’s “abduction”.
“We are currently verifying these claims and will provide an update once sufficient information about the Reverend Father is obtained,” the message, posted on social media platform X, said.
In response to the military’s statement on the priest, opposition leader Bobi Wine said the armed forces had “no place detaining civilians”.
The pop star-turned-politician, who will face President Yoweri Museveni in the election, alleged that many of his supporters had been abducted by the military.
“[It is] what Museveni has turned Uganda into,” Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, wrote on X.
In October, two Kenyan human rights activists went missing for five weeks after reportedly being abducted by armed men while attending Wine’s campaign event. They were later released.
Museveni later acknowledged that they had been arrested, describing them as “experts in riots” who had then been put “in the fridge for some days”.
Ugandan security agencies have long been accused of detaining opposition politicians and supporters while not in uniform. Some detainees have later resurfaced in court, facing criminal charges.
Last year, another Uganda opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, mysteriously disappeared in Nairobi only to appear four days later in a Ugandan military court. He remains in jail on treason charges, which he denies.
By BBC News
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