The reported incident involving Mugerwa Huzaifa, popularly known as Helper TV and associated with the National Unity Platform (NUP), centres on claims of abduction, physical assault, and detention following his coverage of judicial proceedings at Uganda’s High Court.
According to statements from NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya and supporting posts from other party figures and accounts such as Elite News Uganda, Huzaifa was seized from the premises of Twed Tower (the High Court location) around 6 November 2026 while covering the cross-examination of Kampala Central MP and Minister Minsa Kabanda Nabbengo.
He was allegedly held in an undisclosed location from Thursday onwards, subjected to beatings, confined in a dark room without food, and interrogated about the publication of videos of the court session as well as demands for login credentials to his social media and other accounts. He was then reportedly dumped near Mulago hospital on the morning of 7 November 2026 in a state of severe pain and subsequently received medical treatment. Rubongoya’s post, which closely matches the wording of the Elite News Uganda account, expressed relief that Huzaifa was alive while condemning the actions as “barbaric impunity.” Parallel posts described similar assaults on other journalists covering the same hearing, including damage to cameras and recording equipment belonging to outlets such as New Vision and NTV.
These accounts frame the events as targeted reprisals linked to the documentation of Kabanda’s testimony in an election petition. Independent verification of the precise circumstances of the detention, the identity of the alleged perpetrators, or police involvement remains limited in contemporaneous public reporting, which has largely originated from NUP-aligned sources.
The Uganda Police Force was publicly questioned by Rubongoya regarding Huzaifa’s whereabouts after checks at multiple stations (including Wandegeya, Old Kampala, Kira Road, CPS, and Jinja Road) yielded no information. The episode occurs against a backdrop of heightened political contestation following Uganda’s January 2026 general elections and ongoing litigation over parliamentary results.
The underlying legal case is Election Petition No. 10 of 2026, filed by Rubongoya on 30 March 2026 challenging Kabanda’s declaration as winner of the Kampala Central parliamentary seat in the 15 January 2026 vote. Official Electoral Commission figures gave Kabanda (aligned with the ruling National Resistance Movement) 22,280 votes to Rubongoya’s 18,211, a margin of 4,069. Rubongoya’s petition alleged irregularities including alterations to Declaration of Results forms, multiple voting, ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, tallying discrepancies (with specific claims of more than 1,335 votes improperly added in certain areas), and problems with Kabanda’s nomination documents, academic qualifications, and variations in her names. In October 2026, Justice Flavia Nabakooza of the High Court struck out and expunged 97 affidavits that Rubongoya had filed in June and August after the initial petition and the respondents’ answers, ruling that they constituted supplementary evidence introduced without the required leave of court. The court also removed a complaint concerning the location of 23 polling stations in Nakasero II and Kololo II as a pre-election matter that should have been raised earlier with the Electoral Commission. However, the judge allowed claims relating to Kabanda’s nomination, academic qualifications, and name discrepancies to proceed, noting that relevant certified documents had only been obtained by Rubongoya on 26 February 2026, after polling, so they could not reasonably have been treated as pre-election disputes. Cross-examination of Kabanda continued in early November 2026, with NTV Uganda reporting intense questioning over inconsistencies in her personal documents, names, signatures, and national identity details, as well as issues involving non-participation by large numbers of registered voters at certain stations.
Minsa Kabanda Nabbengo is a long-serving NRM figure who has held ministerial positions and represents Kampala Central. Rubongoya, a lawyer and NUP Secretary General, has been a central organiser in the opposition party founded and led by musician-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine). NUP emerged as the primary opposition force after the 2021 elections, securing dozens of parliamentary seats (though its numbers declined slightly in 2026 to around 49 seats according to available tallies) and mounting a presidential challenge. In the January 2026 presidential contest, official results declared Yoweri Museveni re-elected with approximately 71.65 percent (around 7.95 million votes) against Bobi Wine’s 24.72 percent (roughly 2.74 million votes), with turnout near 52.5 percent among over 21 million registered voters.
Opposition figures and some international observers contested the process, citing restrictions on civic space, internet disruptions, intimidation, and irregularities; the European Parliament later adopted a resolution criticising the elections for failing democratic standards and highlighting threats against Bobi Wine, military involvement around his residence, arbitrary arrests, and reports of ill-treatment. Museveni has governed since 1986 following the National Resistance Army’s bush war, and the 2026 result extended his tenure further amid discussions of succession involving his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who has held senior military roles.
The alleged treatment of Huzaifa fits patterns documented by press freedom organisations and human rights groups concerning risks to journalists in Uganda, particularly those covering opposition activities, elections, or sensitive political matters. Reporters Without Borders has noted violence, equipment confiscation, arrests, and abductions targeting journalists critical of authorities, with incidents during by-elections and the 2026 cycle, including assaults during the Kawempe North by-election and other events. Broader reports from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and UN mechanisms have previously detailed enforced disappearances, torture allegations in detention facilities, and the use of security units for political control. In 2026, additional incidents included the temporary military-ordered closure of Nation Media Group outlets (NTV, Daily Monitor, and associated radio stations) and cases of online critics alleging abduction and intimidation. NUP statements have frequently characterised such actions as systematic efforts to suppress documentation of electoral and governance issues, while government responses have typically framed security measures as necessary against unrest or illegal activity. The High Court premises themselves are intended as a protected space for legal process; the reported presence of crowds or individuals linked to a party in the case, followed by assaults on media covering proceedings, raises questions about the practical security of judicial environments and the ability of independent or opposition-linked media to operate without interference.
Huzaifa’s work as Helper TV has involved video coverage and social media dissemination of political and court events, aligning with a wider ecosystem of citizen and independent journalism that has grown alongside formal media under conditions of restricted civic space. The demand for account logins, if accurately reported, points to efforts to control digital distribution of material from the cross-examination. Other journalists at the same hearing reportedly faced physical harassment and equipment destruction, amplifying concerns about collective targeting of those recording public judicial processes. After Huzaifa’s reported release, NUP figures posted updates welcoming his return and reiterating calls for accountability, while medical treatment was underway. No immediate detailed public response from Kabanda’s side, the police, or government spokespersons appears in the primary sources circulating at the time of the initial reports.
This episode sits within the longer trajectory of Uganda’s multiparty politics since the restoration of competitive elections, marked by persistent allegations from opposition parties of uneven playing fields, selective application of law, and security force involvement in political matters. NUP’s platform has emphasised constitutionalism, anti-corruption measures, job creation, and improved public services, contrasting with NRM claims of stability, economic growth under Museveni, and development priorities. Court rulings in election petitions, including the partial striking of evidence in this case, illustrate the technical and procedural constraints on challenges, while the physical risks to those documenting them highlight non-judicial dimensions of contestation. International attention, including European parliamentary statements and RSF monitoring, has focused on cumulative restrictions ahead of and after the 2026 polls. Locally, the incident has fuelled further NUP messaging about impunity and the need for broader reforms to protect journalists, opposition supporters, and the integrity of legal processes.
The available public record consists primarily of contemporaneous statements from the affected party and aligned accounts, court documents and rulings on the petition itself, Electoral Commission figures, and secondary reporting from Ugandan outlets on the cross-examination and earlier procedural decisions. Full independent forensic or police investigation details into the alleged abduction have not surfaced in the sources reviewed. The case continues to illustrate the intersection of electoral litigation, media coverage, and political power dynamics in Uganda more than a decade after the rise of NUP as a significant opposition vehicle and nearly four decades into continuous NRM governance. Further developments will depend on medical outcomes for Huzaifa, any formal investigations, progress of the remaining grounds in the election petition, and the wider environment for journalistic and political activity.
Our brother Mugerwa Huzaifa, popularly known as Helper TV, was dumped around Mulago this morning in severe pain. He was heavily beaten at the High Court premises by individuals who demanded to know why he and other journalists published videos of Minsa Kabanda being cross-examined in court.
Huzaifa reveals that his attackers tortured him while demanding the login details for his accounts. He has been held in a dark room at an unknown location since Thursday, where he was denied food until he was finally dumped today. We’re glad that he’s alive and now getting treatment. We must all condemn this barbaric impunity in the strongest terms.
