Ugandan musician Nina Kankunda, popularly known as Nina Roz, has called on the government to abolish elections altogether, saying the violence and intimidation she witnessed during the recently concluded polls left her traumatised and fearing for her life.

Speaking at the Uganda Law Society New Law Year event on Thursday, the Billboard Kipande hitmaker struggled to hold back tears as she narrated her experience contesting for the Ssembabule District Woman Member of Parliament seat on the National Unity Platform ticket. What was meant to be a democratic exercise, she said, instead resembled a battlefield.

“What I witnessed was not an election but rather a war,” Nina Roz told a packed audience of lawyers and human rights advocates. “My agents were beaten, arrested and others were abducted. Up to now, I do not know where the abducted ones are being held.” She appealed to members of the legal profession to intervene on behalf of political prisoners and families still searching for their loved ones.

In a stark warning to young people, the singer said her experience had convinced her that opposition politics in Uganda had become a life threatening venture. “I advise every youth out there who still wants to live, do not engage in Ugandan politics, especially when you are from the opposition,” she said. “So many youths want to serve and represent their people in a fairly democratic state, but Ugandan politics is discouraging.”

Nina Rose went further, directly challenging the legitimacy of the electoral process under the current administration. “My call to the government is to abolish elections and rule until you get tired and allow people to live, because every life matters,” she said, adding that in her view, the ruling National Resistance Movement would never allow the opposition a fair chance to lead.

Her remarks come against the backdrop of growing national and international criticism following the 2026 general elections, which the Electoral Commission declared free and fair. Across the country, however, reports of ballot stuffing, vote rigging, voter intimidation, violence and heavy military deployment emerged during the presidential, parliamentary, mayoral and sub county polls.

Uganda Law Society Vice President Anthony Asiimwe said the organisation had documented widespread election related violations, including unlawful arrests, intimidation, denial of voting rights and other serious irregularities. He noted that pro bono lawyers were deployed across the country to provide legal assistance and court representation to victims of election violence.

“During the recently concluded elections, this unwarranted militarisation manifested starkly through the widespread deployment of military personnel in what should remain purely civilian and democratic spaces,” Asiimwe said. He added that lawyers, citizens and election observers were subjected to arrests, violence, intimidation and coercion, while human rights defenders were targeted and several non governmental organisations suspended.

According to Asiimwe, the post election period has been marked by an alarming rise in enforced disappearances, abductions, extrajudicial killings and prolonged pre trial detention. “This follows reports of thousands arrested around the elections, and tens or hundreds summarily executed, often in military involved operations, highlighting a growing concern over human rights abuses,” he said.

The Uganda Law Society has since launched its Election Observation Report under the theme Practicing Law amid Military Rule, reaffirming its commitment to the rule of law, democracy and the protection of human rights. Asiimwe called for honest dialogue and meaningful participation of all state institutions, warning that excessive militarisation was eroding both democratic processes and civilian justice systems.

“We extend our hand to the Judiciary in partnership, but the voice of the Bar will not be silenced,” he said, as he criticised the government for invoking national security without sufficient constitutional oversight.

As Nina Roz’s emotional testimony continues to reverberate beyond the walls of the New Law Year event, it has added a powerful personal voice to the broader debate about the cost of politics in Uganda, and whether the country’s electoral processes still offer hope rather than fear to those who dare to participate.

Former Woman MP candidate for Sembabule, Nina Roz, has described her first election experience as traumatic, alleging violence, arrests and abductions of her agents during the process. She advised the youth to stay away from politics, describing it as a dirty game#SqoopUpdates pic.twitter.com/fp6ijqlQqP

— SQOOP; It’s Deep (@MonitorSqoop) February 5, 2026

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