President Yoweri Museveni has reportedly reversed his position on Stephen Nuwagaba, the controversial young man whose access to State House and security operatives triggered a public dispute between the President and veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda.
Andrew Mwenda, the proprietor of The Independent magazine, says a fresh investigation by the Chieftaincy of Defence Intelligence and Security (CDIS) has vindicated his publication’s earlier reporting on Nuwagaba, with Museveni subsequently ordering his removal from State House Nakasero and withdrawing the security arrangements he had been given.
In a statement, Mwenda said the investigation had confirmed the details published by The Independent, which had questioned Nuwagaba’s claimed military and intelligence credentials, his alleged torture and the circumstances under which he gained access to the President and senior security officials.
“After a thorough investigation led by the Chieftaincy of Defense Intelligence and Security, President Yoweri Museveni has decided to remove the notorious liar and fraudster, Stephen Nuwagaba, from state house Nakasero,” Mwenda said.
“He has also stripped him of the security detail he had been given by former commander of SFC, David Mugisha (Biddie): two presidential jeeps, a section of SFC guards plus a pistol and rifle.”
The claims mark a dramatic turn in a controversy that previously saw Museveni publicly defend Nuwagaba against allegations raised by Mwenda and his publication.
Mwenda said the CDIS investigation had established that Nuwagaba was neither the cyber security specialist he had presented himself as nor the torture victim whose claims had attracted Museveni’s intervention.
“The CDIS investigation confirmed all the details The Independent newspaper had written about Nuwagaba,” Mwenda said.
“The president was shocked to discover that Nuwagaba was neither a cyber security expert nor a victim of torture as he had claimed.”
He added: “Instead, the president found out, the guy is an extortionist using lies and fabrications to spread confusion and mayhem.”
The allegations are serious, and the claims about the investigation and Museveni’s subsequent decisions are contained in Mwenda’s statement. The statement does not include the investigation report itself or a separate confirmation from State House or the military.
How Museveni defended Nuwagaba against Mwenda
The latest development follows a public confrontation in August, when Museveni directly responded to Mwenda’s reporting and defended his decision to shelter Nuwagaba.
On July 21, The Independent published an investigation titled State House and security agencies under siege, questioning Nuwagaba’s claimed intelligence background and describing how he allegedly gained access to the President and security officials. The publication alleged that he used his proximity to Museveni to threaten officials and obtain money from them.
The magazine subsequently published further investigations, including The President’s man on July 28 and The lies of Uganda’s Rasputin in August, detailing allegations of fabricated intelligence, extortion and interference in the careers of government and security officials. These were allegations reported by the publication, rather than findings from a publicly available CDIS report.
Museveni responded publicly on August 3 in a statement titled Who is Nuwagaba?, accusing Mwenda of pursuing his own agenda and defending the young man as someone who had approached him seeking protection after allegedly suffering torture and maiming at the hands of security personnel.
The President said Nuwagaba had come to him as “a fugitive, a victim of torture and maiming, whom some elements in the Security Services were trying to silence, including threatening with death.”
Museveni also condemned torture and defended his decision to provide Nuwagaba with medical treatment in Uganda and abroad.
The dispute therefore went beyond questions about one man’s qualifications. It became a public disagreement over the credibility of intelligence reaching the President, the treatment of security personnel and the circumstances under which Nuwagaba had gained access to State House.
Mwenda appeals for officers to be reinstated
In his latest statement, Mwenda said Nuwagaba’s alleged fabrications had cost several officers their jobs, arguing that the people affected should not continue to suffer if the investigation had established that the allegations against them were false.
“Nuwagaba, through his lies, distortions and misinformation caused the sacking of many loyal and diligent officers from state house and the SFC,” he said.
“I appeal to the president to reassess these staff and reinstate them to their jobs.”
Mwenda also raised the case of Capt Amis Ainebyona, who he said had spent more than two years in jail over allegations connected to Nuwagaba’s claims of torture.
“I also appeal to the president to cause the release of Capt Amis Ainebyona who has been in jail for more than two years on false allegations of torturing Nuwagaba,” Mwenda said.
The captain’s case has been part of the wider dispute surrounding Nuwagaba’s allegations and the competing accounts of what happened to him. Mwenda’s demand for his release is an appeal to the President; it does not, by itself, establish that a release has been ordered.
Despite the public disagreement with Museveni in August, Mwenda used his latest statement to thank the President for what he described as a decisive intervention following the intelligence investigation.
“As a senior citizen of this country, I want to thank the president unreservedly for this bold and decisive step,” he said.
He also thanked Museveni for personally listening to his account of the controversy.
“I also want to thank him for calling me to explain to him the background of Nuwagaba and his lies and distortions.”
Mwenda ended the statement with a declaration that the dispute was not over.
“The struggle continues!” he said.
The reported removal of Nuwagaba and withdrawal of his security detail would represent a significant reversal from Museveni’s public defence of him in August. State House and relevant security authorities were yet to issue statements on the reported orders and the findings attributed to CDIS.
