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\t\t\t\t\tThe wife of Kampala Lord Mayor and prominent lawyer Erias Lukwago, Nalongo Zawedde Lubwama Lukwago, has broken her silence to provide a firsthand account of the dramatic events that led to her husband\u2019s violent seizure by armed men on Monday morning.
\nSpeaking from the family home, which remains under a heavy security cordon, Nalongo Zawedde described a pre-dawn operation that she says was meticulously planned and executed with military precision.
\nAccording to her, the ordeal did not begin with the abduction itself\u2014but with a silent, ominous warning hours earlier.
\n\u201cBefore they took him, Erias posted on social media that two drones and a heavy deployment of security operatives had sealed off our home,\u201d she recounted, her voice trembling but steady. \u201cHe knew something was coming. But what could he do? We are not armed. We are not soldiers. We are lawyers.\u201d
\nShe explained that the drones hovered above the residence for nearly an hour before sunrise, circling like vultures waiting for prey. Then, just as the family began to stir for morning prayers, armed plainclothes men stormed the property.
\n\u201cThey did not knock. They did not announce themselves with a warrant. They came through the gate and the side entrance simultaneously,\u201d she said. \u201cMy husband was still in his sleeping clothes. He never even had his cup of tea.\u201d
\nNalongo Zawedde says she begged the operatives to at least allow Lukwago to dress properly and inform his clients, particularly Dr. Kizza Besigye, who is currently facing a treason trial in which Lukwago serves as a key defense lawyer.
\n\u201cThey laughed,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of them told me, \u2018Your husband\u2019s only crime is defending traitors.\u2019 I told him, \u2018In a country with laws, defending someone is not a crime.\u2019 He did not answer. He just shoved Erias into a waiting black vehicle.\u201d
\nThe armed men reportedly sped off as the drones finally descended, leaving behind a traumatized household and a neighborhood in shock.
\nNalongo Zawedde emphasized that her husband is not a violent man, not a political extremist\u2014but a father, a husband, and an advocate who believes in the rule of law.
\n\u201cHe is the president of the Uganda Law Society\u2019s Public Interest Litigation Committee (PFF). He is defending Dr. Besigye in open court. If that is now an offense punishable by abduction and torture, then Uganda no longer has a legal profession\u2014only prisoners who once wore gowns.\u201d
\nShe also drew a direct line between Monday\u2019s events and the earlier abduction of another lawyer on Besigye\u2019s team, Kiiza Ron, who was violently removed from court and imprisoned in January 2025.
\n\u201cThey are systematically emptying the defense bench,\u201d she said. \u201cFirst Kiiza. Now Erias. Who next? And while they suffer, Muhoohi glosts on social media. It is a theatre of cruelty.\u201d
\nAs of this publication, the whereabouts of Erias Lukwago remain unknown. The family has not received any official communication from the police or military regarding his detention or charges.
\nNalongo Zawedde made a final appeal: \u201cI am begging anyone with a conscience\u2014human rights groups, the international community, even ordinary Ugandans\u2014to speak. My husband is not a weapon. He is a lawyer. And lawyers must not be abducted for simply showing up to court.\u201d
\nThe Uganda Law Society has called for an emergency session, while Dr. Kizza Besigye\u2019s legal team has announced that they will not proceed with any hearings until Lukwago is produced in court\u2014alive, unharmed, and with his dignity intact.
\nFor now, the drones are gone. But so is Erias Lukwago. And his wife waits by the window, still holding the cup of tea he never got to drink.<\/p>\n
\tRelated<\/p>\n\n The wife of Kampala Lord Mayor and prominent lawyer Erias Lukwago, Nalongo Zawedde Lubwama Lukwago, has broken her silence to provide a firsthand account of the dramatic events that led to her husband\u2019s violent seizure by armed men on Monday morning. Speaking from the family home, which remains under a heavy security cordon, Nalongo Zawedde …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3659155457675267_172535249438148":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details.jpg",1500,1500,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details-768x768.jpg",618,618,true],"large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details-1024x1024.jpg",618,618,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details.jpg",1500,1500,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details.jpg",1500,1500,false],"tie-small":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details-110x75.jpg",110,75,true],"tie-medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details-310x165.jpg",310,165,true],"tie-large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details-310x205.jpg",310,205,true],"slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details-660x330.jpg",660,330,true],"big-slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/They-Came-Before-Dawn-Wife-Nalongo-Zawedde-Reveals-Chilling-Details-1050x525.jpg",1050,525,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Editor"]},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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