What does President Museveni know about Andrew Mwenda?

What the report says

The Independent Uganda published a comment by Barnabas Taremwa Bwaniaga examining President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s public remarks about journalist Andrew Mwenda and a man identified as Nuwagaba. The writer says Museveni’s message, released after LC1 elections were held, alleged that Mwenda had engaged in schemes such as spying and trying to discredit or scare off potential investors. Bwaniaga says he does not know Nuwagaba or Mwenda’s full side of the story and withholds judgment pending more information.

The piece argues that the issue points to a broader concern about how information reaches the president and whether people around him may distort events. Bwaniaga says he has observed similar dynamics in his own dealings with state institutions and uses those experiences to suggest that officials or security actors can act in the president’s name without his full knowledge.

He recounts three personal episodes: a land dispute involving his former ranch in Kashongi, a family meeting at Rwakitura that he says included unexpected participants, and a more recent State House meeting related to an international trade scandal. In each case, he says Museveni intervened directly after hearing the matter firsthand. The column does not resolve the dispute involving Mwenda or Nuwagaba, but frames it as a call for fair hearing, caution in assigning blame, and closer scrutiny of claims made within powerful circles.