A leaked video capturing the dramatic abduction of Hon. Barnabas Tinkasiimire has sparked nationwide outrage and renewed fears of state-linked kidnappings. In the footage, uniformed soldiers are seen surrounding the MP’s vehicle in Namungoona before forcibly dragging him out and bundling him into a white Toyota Hiace van commonly referred to by Ugandans as a “drone” as traffic grinds to a halt around the scene.
The video, which was circulated on social media by Charles Rwomushana a former intelligence operative under President Museveni’s government appears to confirm long-standing suspicions of a coordinated, military-style operation. The footage has revived memories of earlier cases in Kampala and other towns where individuals were abducted in similar fashion, often with little to no follow-up or accountability from authorities.
This incident adds a disturbing new layer to the earlier testimony from Mrs. Sandra Tinkasiimire, who revealed that her husband was later found at around 1 a.m., severely beaten and unable to walk, abandoned near where he was taken. His injuries suggest he suffered harsh treatment during his captivity.
The visuals leave little doubt: the operation was coercive, calculated, and carried out in broad daylight by armed personnel. Analysts say it mirrors patterns seen in previous cases where plainclothes or uniformed forces used ‘drones’ to silence dissent or intimidate political figures a practice widely criticized by human rights groups.
As the video continues to circulate, calls for an independent, transparent investigation are intensifying. Political leaders and civil society actors are demanding answers: Who authorized the operation? Which security agency carried it out? What happened during Tinkasiimire’s detention and who will be held accountable?
The implications are deeply troubling. Rather than a rogue crime, the evidence increasingly points toward a deliberate, state-linked maneuver to abduct and intimidate a sitting Member of Parliament. With Hon. Tinkasiimire now recovering, the public’s focus has turned to justice, transparency, and preventing further abuses of power.
Unless these questions are addressed urgently and openly, confidence in the rule of law already eroded by years of uninvestigated “drone” abductions risks further collapse.
