France, May 5 -- With less than a year until Uganda's presidential election, the political climate is increasingly tense. The main opposition party NUP has condemned the brutal crackdown on activists, saying 2,000 kidnappings have taken place since the last elections in 2021. But the government accuses the opposition of staging the abductions for political gain.

Uganda is set to hold a general election in January, with President Yoweri Museveni looking to extend his 40-year rule.

The last election in 2021 was marred by widespread reports of irregularities and severe violence from the security forces, which Museveni blamed on "indiscipline" and "laziness".

The US-based Holocaust Memorial Museum recently warned of possible "mass atrociti...