Unidentified assailants stormed the National Unity Platform (NUP) office in Gulu City in the early hours of Thursday, destroying furniture, campaign materials, and records while stealing electronics and documents.

The opposition party described the attackers as “regime operatives,” linking the raid to mounting political tensions ahead of the 2026 general elections.

The incident occurred around 3 a.m. when masked individuals armed with axes and hammers smashed doors and windows, leaving the office in disarray just days before a planned visit by NUP leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine. Eyewitnesses told local reporters that military vehicles blocked access roads to the Pece-Laroo Division office, preventing intervention and allowing the attackers to operate for nearly an hour.

No arrests have been made, and police in Gulu have yet to issue a detailed statement, though a spokesperson confirmed that “an investigation is underway.”

NUP spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi condemned the raid as a “deliberate act of sabotage” by state security forces. He urged supporters to channel their outrage into electoral turnout through the party’s #ProtestVote2026 campaign, declaring: “This is Uganda in 2025—where democracy is under siege through violence and intimidation.”

The attack adds to a pattern of harassment against NUP, the main opposition challenging President Yoweri Museveni’s decades-long rule. In June 2025, a youth-led protest escalated into a raid on the same Gulu office, where over 100 demonstrators trashed interiors before police intervened and arrested five.

Earlier this year, joint military-police operations repeatedly targeted NUP headquarters in Kampala, citing “unauthorized military drills” and seizing computers, cash, and nomination signatures. In February, Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba admitted leading a raid on NUP’s Kavule offices, claiming to have found “weed and condoms” in Bobi Wine’s space — allegations the party dismissed as fabricated.

Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned the escalation. HRW’s Africa director Ory Okolloh stated: “These raids are not random; they’re calculated to dismantle opposition structures ahead of 2026. Uganda’s authorities must cease this suppression of free assembly.” The African Union and ECOWAS observers monitoring pre-election violence have echoed calls for an independent probe.

Despite the destruction, NUP vowed to rebuild and proceed with Bobi Wine’s scheduled visit on Saturday, framing the attack as “fuel for our resolve.” Gulu is a historic stronghold of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).