Tension and emotion filled the courtroom in Lira on Thursday as ten supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP) were remanded to Lira Government Prison over allegations of attacking a police vehicle earlier in the week.
The ten, mostly young men and women, appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Jane Tibagonzeka on charges of malicious damage to property and robbery stemming from an incident involving a Uganda Police Force surveillance vehicle.
According to the prosecution, the group allegedly intercepted the police vehicle on October 28, 2025, along the Lira–Alebtong highway, near Obot Primary School in Obot A Village, Bar Sub-county. They are accused of deflating all four tires using sharp metallic objects before allegedly taking a Dell laptop valued at Shs 1.89 million and two 20-litre jerricans of diesel.
The accused Ismail Bukenya, Liberty Lokoro, Mastura Nakabuye, Raston Waiswa, Hope Nasozi, Saliman Kagwa, Reagan Kamulegeya, Stephen Katamba, Alison Lubega, and Precious Paul Ssembusi stood quietly in the dock as the charges were read. Each of them pleaded not guilty.
Family members and NUP supporters filled the courtroom gallery, some visibly emotional as they watched their colleagues led back to the cells. The court scheduled November 12, 2025, for a bail hearing.
Outside the court, Hamza Otoo Amiza, the NUP parliamentary aspirant for Oyam South Constituency, expressed disappointment, describing the arrests as a form of political intimidation. “These are innocent young Ugandans whose only crime is supporting change,” he told journalists. “We are asking our members to remain calm and stand with their colleagues as we pursue legal redress.”
Several NUP officials, including Dorine Akello, the Lira City Party Administrator, attended the hearing in solidarity. She said the party would continue to provide legal and moral support to the detained supporters.
As the prison van pulled away from the court premises, some of the detainees waved at their friends and relatives a small act of courage that drew cheers from the crowd gathered outside, a reminder of the resilience that has come to define Uganda’s opposition movement.