UPDF Warns NUP’s Bobi Wine, Says Army Is “Highly Capable, Organized, Proficient and Lethal”

KAMPALA, — Uganda’s armed forces have issued a stern public warning to National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential flagbearer Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, commonly known as Bobi Wine, declaring that the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) is “highly capable, organized, proficient and lethal.”

The warning—delivered by Colonel Chris Magezi, Acting Director of Defence Public Information at the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs—comes in response to what authorities describe as increasingly provocative campaign statements by the opposition candidate.

UPDF Responds to Bobi Wine’s Call to ‘Mob Polling Stations’

Security officials say they have been monitoring Bobi Wine’s repeated calls for his supporters to flood polling centers on Election Day and later march to Kampala.
According to Magezi, the NUP candidate has also encouraged supporters to prepare to confront security forces, arguing that police and the UPDF would be outnumbered.

Magezi condemned the statements as incendiary, divisive, and dangerous, warning they risk triggering political violence and misleading young Ugandans into confrontation with armed forces.

Security Statement: “This Must Stop”

In a strongly worded statement, the UPDF cautioned political actors against rhetoric that could destabilize the country ahead of the elections.

Magezi noted:

• The language is “ill-advised, toxic, shallow in logic, and dangerous.”

• Inciting supporters to challenge the military is “a zero-sum game with no winners.”

• Uganda’s history of instability should discourage leaders from undermining national security institutions.

The army emphasized that Uganda’s progress relies on a stable security foundation—and any attempt to provoke chaos will be met decisively.

UPDF Highlights Its Regional Combat Record

Reaffirming its operational strength, the UPDF said there is “no threat we cannot handle.”
Magezi urged critics to look at Uganda’s military performance against:

• al-Shabaab in Somalia

• ADF and CODECO in the Democratic Republic of Congo

• Joseph Kony’s LRA in the Central African Republic

He added that past groups that attempted to mobilize youths into armed confrontation—likened to “modern-day Alice Lakwena” or regional agitators in the Rwenzori—had all failed.

Call for Peaceful Campaigning

The UPDF urged all political leaders to campaign peacefully, follow Electoral Commission guidelines, and operate within the law.

Magezi concluded that the armed forces remain committed to safeguarding national stability and warned that anyone inciting violence would face consequences.

By:

Colonel Chris Magezi
Acting Director, Defence Public Information
MODVA / UPDF