Matthew Bagonza, the long-serving personal assistant to Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID) chairman Odrek Rwabwogo, is being held at Kasenyi SFC Barracks, amid a widening crackdown on members of the committee by security agencies.
Bagonza was picked up in the early hours of Tuesday by armed security personnel believed to be attached to the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force (JATT) and the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), after he was reportedly notified on Monday night that he would be arrested.
He is currently being held at the Special Forces Command (SFC) barracks in Kasenyi, which has a detention facility.
No charges have so far been preferred against him, and authorities have not publicly disclosed the allegations forming the basis of his detention.
His arrest was confirmed on Tuesday night by Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who posted a photograph of Bagonza shirtless, apparently while in custody.
The arrest came days after Muhoozi declared PACEID an illegal organisation and threatened to arrest members whom he accused of corruption.
“PACEID is an illegal organisation. We shall start arresting its members immediately,” Muhoozi said.
He later declared that all members of the committee allegedly involved in corruption would be arrested, before saying that President Yoweri Museveni had sanctioned the operation against what he described as a “criminal outfit” operating under PACEID.
Although Muhoozi initially did not name the person he said had already been arrested, it had since emerged that he was referring to Bagonza.
Bagonza’s detention has drawn a public response from his boss, Rwabwogo, who has called for due process and challenged authorities to take his aide to court if he has a case to answer.
Rwabwogo said Bagonza joined him in 2010 and has worked with him for more than a decade. He described him as a clean officer and defended his record.
“If Bagonza has a case to answer, let him be taken to court,” Rwabwogo said.
Rwabwogo further said he called the President about the arrest and he was unaware.
The detention has also triggered appeals for leniency from several of Muhoozi’s allies, including his close confidant and Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) former Secretary General David Kabanda.
Kabanda and others have pleaded for Bagonza’s pardon, portraying him as a loyal National Resistance Movement (NRM) cadre who may have been misled.
The appeals have added a new dimension to the unfolding dispute, with some of Muhoozi’s supporters appearing to distinguish Bagonza from the alleged wrongdoing being attributed to PACEID.
Bagonza has been closely associated with Rwabwogo for many years and has reportedly worked with him since 2010, making his arrest one of the most significant developments in the confrontation surrounding PACEID.
The committee was established by President Museveni in March 2022 under the Office of the President to advise government on exports, industrial development and strategies for expanding Uganda’s presence in international markets.
However, Muhoozi has now publicly labelled the organisation illegal and accused some of its members of corruption.
Despite confirming Bagonza’s arrest and posting his photograph, Muhoozi has not publicly disclosed the specific allegations against Rwabwogo’s aide.
For now, Bagonza remains detained at Kasenyi SFC Barracks without publicly known charges, as pressure mounts on authorities to either explain the basis of his detention and produce him before court or release him.
The developments are likely to further intensify the growing confrontation around PACEID and its chairman, as Muhoozi maintains that the operation against the committee is sanctioned by President Museveni.
