By Aggrey Baba
Kampala was thrown into chaos on Thursday afternoon when military and police personnel jointly descended on the National Unity Platform (NUP) headquarters in Makerere-Kavule, violently dispersing supporters and leaving several injured.
The unrest, which erupted, reportedly, after a confrontation with singer Alien Skin’s (Fangone Forest) group, has renewed fears that the run-up to the 2026 elections will be marred by violence and intimidation, just like it was in 2021.
Witnesses say Alien Skin, real name Patrick Mulwana, arrived at the NUP offices accompanied by a group of goons who allegedly held arrows and pointed them at NUP supporters, a move which immediately sparked commotion, and in the confusion security forces that had been deployed around the area moved in with force.
Beatings, teargas, and heavy-handed arrests followed, creating panic across Kavule and parts of Kampala as residents fled the clashes. This is evidenced in a video which made endless rounds on social media, with security operatives mercilessly beating people who are said to be NUP supporters.
Party Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya condemned the incident, accusing the state of once again targeting opposition members without cause.
“They torture citizens in broad daylight because they believe there can be no consequences,” he commented, arguing that the violence was neither accidental nor spontaneous but part of a deliberate campaign to weaken the opposition.
According to him, the ‘Kapati and sitya danger’ singer’s (Alien Skin) provocation simply provided an excuse for security agencies to unleash violence on party supporters.
Reports from the ground suggest that the standoff stretched for hours, with military and police personnel engaging in running battles against NUP supporters.
Earlier in the day, the police in different parts of Kampala had been seen exchanging words with NUP supporters who had escorted the party glag beater for the Kampala lord mayoral office, Godfrey Balimwezo to pick nomination forms, following his successful declaration by the party as the flagbearer. Yet what could have been an ordinary day in the red umbrella party calendar ended with chaos, injuries, and supporters nursing wounds.
The pattern, observers say, has become all too familiar, saying every electoral season in Uganda comes with heightened confrontations between security and opposition parties.
Gatherings of opposition supporters are frequently disrupted, rallies blocked, and individuals beaten or arrested, while ruling party (NRM) events often proceed unhindered.
Alien Skin’s role in these clashes has increasingly attracted attention. Once viewed simply as an entertainer, he has over time emerged as a divisive figure in politics. His repeated run-ins with NUP and his proximity to security agencies have raised suspicions among NUP supporters who believe he is being used to provoke confrontation. Thursday’s incident only deepened these doubts, with many seeing his arrival armed with supporters as a carefully staged trigger.
For NUP, the incident is being interpreted in the broader context of systematic intimidation. Since its emergence as the largest opposition party in 2021, it has repeatedly accused security forces of targeting its leaders and members through abductions, arbitrary detention, and outright violence.
September 4th events in Kavule therefore fit into a long-running pattern that the party views as deliberate, designed to frustrate and weaken it ahead of 2026 elections.
