The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has strongly condemned the violent home invasion and assault on Barbara Itungo Kyagulanyi at her residence in Magere, Wakiso District, describing the incident as a grave abuse of state power and a violation of fundamental human rights.
The attack occurred on the night of January 23, 2026, just hours after a ULS delegation had visited Ms Kyagulanyi, better known as Barbie, earlier that day to discuss legal options for lifting what the society described as an unlawful eight-day house arrest imposed on her family.
According to information circulating on social media and accounts from eyewitnesses, including Barbie herself and the leadership of the National Unity Platform (NUP), armed intruders reportedly broke into the residence demanding information on the whereabouts of Robert Kyagulanyi.
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During the operation, several documents and personal properties were allegedly seized.
In a statement posted on Saturday, Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, said hundreds of soldiers descended on their Magere home during the night, with many reportedly dressed in Special Forces Command uniforms, others in regular Uganda People's Defence Forces attire, and some in plain clothes.
He claimed some of the soldiers appeared drunk and arrived with ladders, apparently prepared to access upper sections of the house.
Kyagulanyi said the soldiers broke doors, smashed windows and walls using hammers, and forcefully entered the house.
"They put my wife at gunpoint, asking her to reveal my whereabouts," he wrote, adding that money, valuable documents and electronic equipment were taken. He listed phones, laptops, chargers, the home internet system, CCTV equipment and speakers among the items allegedly seized.
He further alleged that the soldiers searched every part of the house, including the ceiling, leaving widespread destruction.
According to Kyagulanyi, Ms Kyagulanyi was forcibly restrained, ordered to unlock her phone, and assaulted when she refused.
He claimed she was strangled, verbally abused, forcefully undressed and photographed, while soldiers allegedly questioned her in Runyakore about why she had married a Muganda.
Kyagulanyi also alleged that the family's security guard and housemaid were beaten, and that the guard was forced to show soldiers parts of the house where they believed Kyagulanyi was hiding. He said the intruders asked about the whereabouts of his children during the operation.
"My wife is currently in hospital dealing with all the physical and psychological trauma," Kyagulanyi said, adding that military and police personnel remained deployed inside and outside the compound.
Despite the incident, he said the family remained resolute, stating, "Yet in all this, we remain firm in our belief that Uganda will be free."
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In its statement, ULS said the attack, which it attributed to Uganda People's Defence Forces personnel operating under police supervision, constituted a blatant violation of the rights to liberty, security, dignity and privacy.
The society described the incident as part of a broader pattern of intimidation aimed at silencing opposition figures in the aftermath of the disputed elections.
ULS further warned that the incident risked provoking civil unrest, citing ongoing reports of detentions, torture and enforced disappearances of NUP supporters across the country.
Invoking its mandate under Sections 3(d) and 3(e) of the Uganda Law Society Act, the organisation said it would petition a competent court to lift Barbie's house arrest and challenge what it termed unlawful restrictions imposed on her.
ULS also announced plans to launch an independent investigation to gather forensic evidence, with the aim of filing both civil and criminal complaints against individuals identified as responsible, as well as their supervisors, over allegations of torture, unlawful search and seizure, and other human rights abuses.
Following the January 23, 2026 invasion, Barbie was admitted to Nsambya Hospital, where she is currently receiving medical treatment.
If you want, I can tighten this further for length, or flag any legally sensitive phrasing you might want to hedge with attribution language.
