KAMPALA — President Yoweri Museveni has distanced himself from the arrest of Matthew Bagonza, a senior official at the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID), as disturbing statements attributed to Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba have thrown the controversial detention into the spotlight.
Bagonza, who heads the PACEID secretariat and works closely with its chairman, Odrek Rwabwogo, was reportedly arrested on Monday by security personnel who picked him up from his home in Entebbe. The circumstances surrounding his arrest, including the agency responsible and the allegations against him, remain unclear.
Rwabwogo told journalists in Kampala on Wednesday that he only learned of Bagonza’s arrest at about 10:30 a.m. He said he subsequently travelled to Entebbe to meet President Museveni and seek clarification.
According to Rwabwogo, Museveni told him that he had no prior knowledge of the arrest and had not instructed security agencies to apprehend Bagonza.
The revelation raises fresh questions about who authorised the operation and why a senior official working within a presidential advisory body could be arrested without the President, according to Rwabwogo, being aware of it.
Rwabwogo said he had also been informed that Bagonza would soon be taken to court. He added that lawyers were on standby to represent him and appealed to Bagonza’s relatives, friends and family to pray for him.
But the controversy escalated dramatically after Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba appeared to confirm Bagonza’s detention on X, posting a shirtless photograph of the PACEID official.
In a series of posts, the army chief made statements about Bagonza being subjected to severe physical punishment while in detention.
“I’ll make sure we cane Bagonza properly. He will receive the small number of 3,000 canes per week,” Muhoozi wrote.
In another post, he said the alleged punishment would begin with Bagonza’s stomach and claimed it would cause him to lose weight.
The CDF went further, stating that Bagonza’s death during the alleged punishment would be “a very good thing.”
The extraordinary statements have added another layer to an already murky case, particularly because no official explanation has been publicly provided regarding the grounds for Bagonza’s arrest.
Neither the alleged offence nor the identity of the arresting agency was disclosed in the information provided by Rwabwogo or Muhoozi.
Bagonza is understood to be a key figure in PACEID’s operations, having worked closely with Rwabwogo on the committee’s programmes aimed at promoting exports, industrial development and investment.
His arrest therefore places fresh scrutiny on the increasingly controversial operations and internal dynamics surrounding the presidential advisory body.
The apparent contradiction between Museveni’s reported claim that he did not know about the arrest and Muhoozi’s public comments confirming Bagonza’s detention is likely to fuel further questions about the chain of command surrounding the case.
For now, Bagonza remains at the centre of a rapidly escalating storm, with his lawyers reportedly preparing for court and his family waiting for answers about his whereabouts, the allegations against him and what triggered his arrest.
The case has also intensified public attention on the boundaries between presidential authority, security operations and the treatment of individuals detained by state agencies.
Until Bagonza is brought before court and the authorities disclose the allegations against him, key questions surrounding his arrest remain unanswered.
