Kivumbi breaks silence on deadly attack, reveals next steps

Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi has broken his silence after a deadly night raid at his home, alleging that security forces shot dead several members of his campaign team during vote tallying.

Speaking at his residence in Bugoye village, Gombe Sub-county, Kivumbi said armed men stormed his home late at night as results were being compiled at the district tally centre. He said the attackers fired shots that killed people inside his house.

“They were killed inside my house,” Kivumbi said. “I was the target.”

He said supporters had gathered peacefully at his home after preliminary results from polling stations suggested he had won the race. They planned to move to the district headquarters for the official declaration. He said security forces then surrounded the home.

Kivumbi said the attackers included men in military and police uniforms, alongside others in civilian clothes. He said they first fired into the air, causing panic. Many people ran into his garage for safety.

“That is where they started shooting at them,” he said.

He said he survived by hiding in one of the rooms. He believes the operation aimed to arrest or kill him, or to seize election declaration forms.

Police have given a different account. Katonga Region Police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said violence broke out earlier after supporters of the National Unity Platform caused chaos.

Police said there was an attempted attack on a tally centre and a police station. They said seven people were shot dead during the unrest.

Kivumbi denied claims that he mobilised supporters to attack police with machetes. He said the accusations were false and meant to justify a violent crackdown.

“There is no police station in this village,” he said. “Is my home now a police station?”

He said he has CCTV footage that shows security personnel firing at his gate at night and later searching for bodies. He called for an independent investigation.

“Winning the election is no longer important to me,” Kivumbi said. “What matters is that innocent people lost their lives in my home.”

He said he plans to take the matter to court. He also said he is living in fear of arrest or abduction but will not go into hiding.

The accounts remain sharply contested. The violence followed Thursday’s general elections. Kivumbi lost the parliamentary race in the January 15 polls to former Sunday Monitor editor Eriasa Mukiibi, who ran as an independent.