Mabonga Herbert Matanda, a former Ugandan military intelligence officer, says security forces held opposition politicians and activists without trial in secret facilities. The army has rejected his allegations and described him as a deserter wanted in criminal cases.
In an interview with the French publication Africa Intelligence, Matanda described videos he says he recorded at an unofficial detention centre in Entebbe. The footage, about 20 minutes long, was released on September 30. The outlet said it showed opposition figures Muwanga Kivumbi and Sam Mugumya in poor health. The authenticity and circumstances of the recording have not been independently established.
Matanda says the site, which he calls a “safe house,” is one of several facilities used by an elite army unit. He named possible locations in Kampala, Katabi Air Base, a special forces training centre at Sera-Kasini and military intelligence headquarters. His claims about the other sites have not been independently confirmed.
The former officer said he joined the army in 2011, served as an aide to the late Interior Minister Aronda Nyakairima and later worked under Tom Kikuyo Kabuye, the deputy head of military intelligence. Matanda said he was investigating corruption in the army and faced pressure to slow the inquiry after Kabuye died in September 2025. He claimed to have survived three assassination attempts and to have gone into hiding after receiving a transfer order to the front in the Democratic Republic of Congo in November 2025.
Matanda said he prepared a report on his investigation and sent it to President Yoweri Museveni, the president’s son and army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and military intelligence chief Richard Otto. He said he left his hiding place on March 18 after being told the president wanted to meet him, but was taken to Entebbe instead of the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala. He claimed he spent five months there waiting for a meeting that never took place.
The former officer said he recorded conditions at the facility, alleging that loud music was used to cover detainees’ cries and that people there were abused. He accused Kainerugaba of responsibility for arrests and said he saw former Kampala mayor Erias Lukwago arrive in June. Kenyan activist Bob Njagi told Africa Intelligence that he too had been detained at Sera-Kasini and the same facility in late 2025. Museveni had previously acknowledged holding Njagi and fellow Kenyan Nicholas Oyoo, saying he had put them “in the fridge.” In May, Agatha Nazuwa, an activist with the opposition National Unity Platform, said on TikTok that she was tortured during secret detention.
Matanda filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court and attached videos. Army acting director of defence information Col. Chris Magezi called the officer’s claims “baseless nonsense” and said the documents were forged and images altered. Magezi also said Matanda was wanted over allegations of extortion, property fraud and forged land-title documents. The army said it transferred him to the Mountain Infantry Division headquarters in Fort Portal in April 2026, but that he failed to report. Pulse Uganda reported that the army first gave April as the transfer date and changed it to November 2025 later that same night. Magezi did not answer Africa Intelligence’s questions about the safe houses and detainees’ conditions. Matanda denies the accusations against him.