ARMED AND DANGEROUS! Questions as Hooded JATT Operative Storms Court With Weapons — Hammer, Knife, Pliers…

KAMPALA, UGANDA — Questions are mounting over how a hooded security operative allegedly armed with a gun, hammer, knife, pliers and other objects was allowed to enter a courtroom during the appearance of opposition politician Muwanga Kivumbi.

The startling allegations were raised by National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, who shared a photograph he said showed one of the hooded Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force (JATT) operatives who accompanied Kivumbi to court.

According to Bobi Wine, the operative was not only armed with a firearm but was also carrying several objects that he alleged are regularly associated with torture sessions.

“One of the hooded JATT operatives who came with Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi to court, in full possession of some of the tools that are regularly used in torture sessions – gun, pliers, hammer, axe, knife, etc.”

The allegation has raised questions about security arrangements inside Ugandan courtrooms, particularly how an armed and hooded operative allegedly carrying such objects could enter a courtroom during judicial proceedings.

Bobi Wine was particularly alarmed by what he described as the operative’s audacity to enter the courtroom while fully armed.

“These operatives even had the audacity to enter the court room, fully armed in this manner!”

‘Talk to past victims’

Bobi Wine went further, alleging that the objects seen in the photograph have been used during torture sessions against Ugandans.

He urged people to speak to alleged past victims to understand the significance of the items.

“Talk to past victims and they’ll tell you how these items have been used to make citizens wail at the weight of torture- if at all they live to tell the story.”

The allegations are serious and have not been independently verified in relation to the specific operative or the objects shown in the photograph.

Bobi Wine, however, presented the incident as part of a wider pattern of alleged abuse involving opposition supporters and political detainees.

Why was Kivumbi remanded?

The NUP president also questioned the conduct of the judicial officer who presided over Kivumbi’s proceedings.

Rather than condemning what Bobi Wine described as the presence of heavily armed operatives in court, he said the judicial officer instead subjected Kivumbi to a lengthy remand period.

“That the judicial officer could not condemn them and instead punished Hon. Kivumbi with a long remand period is telling.”

The statement adds another layer to the controversy surrounding Kivumbi’s detention, with the NUP leadership continuing to raise concerns about the treatment of its officials by security agencies and the courts.

Bobi Wine’s focus, however, was not only on Kivumbi’s detention but on the apparent security presence surrounding him.

The photograph he circulated has placed the spotlight on the hooded JATT operative, with particular attention being drawn to the alleged combination of a firearm and objects including a hammer, knife, pliers and axe.

Armed security inside court

The allegations raise broader questions about the balance between security and the sanctity of judicial proceedings.

Courts are intended to provide a controlled environment in which accused persons, lawyers, witnesses and judicial officers can participate in proceedings without intimidation.

The alleged presence of a hooded, armed operative carrying multiple implements inside the courtroom therefore raises questions about who authorised the security arrangement, what weapons or equipment security personnel are permitted to carry into court and what safeguards exist to prevent intimidation of accused persons.

Bobi Wine did not provide details in his statement about the identity of the specific operative or the circumstances under which the alleged weapons were brought into court.

Nor did he provide independent evidence establishing that the objects had been used to torture Kivumbi or any other specific detainee.

But his description of the scene has reignited longstanding opposition allegations concerning torture, illegal detention and the conduct of security agencies during the arrest and prosecution of government critics.

‘Uganda Will Be Free’

Bobi Wine ended his statement with a declaration that framed the incident within his broader political struggle against what the NUP describes as state repression.

“UGANDA WILL BE FREE.”

The statement comes at a time when opposition figures and their supporters have repeatedly raised allegations of torture and mistreatment in detention.

The government and security agencies have previously faced criticism over allegations of human-rights violations, while authorities have routinely defended security operations as necessary for maintaining law and order.

For now, the central questions arising from Bobi Wine’s account remain unanswered: Who was the hooded operative? Why was he allegedly carrying a gun alongside a hammer, knife, pliers and an axe? Who authorised the alleged entry of armed operatives into the courtroom? And why, according to Bobi Wine, was the security presence not condemned by the judicial officer?

Those questions are likely to fuel further scrutiny of Kivumbi’s case and the conduct of security personnel around opposition-related court proceedings.