False: Former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago Is Not Dead
Claim:
A TikTok post claims that a renown Kampala city lawyer and opposition leader, Erias Lukwago is dead.
The post, which has garnered 3968 likes, 63 comments, 319 saves and 85 shares, features several pictures of Lukwago alongside the text, “RIP Lukwago wange.”
Background
Lukwago is a Ugandan lawyer and opposition politician who served as the Lord Mayor of KampalaHe has represented several opposition politicians in court, including Dr. Kizza Besigye in his treason case. Lukwago has also publicly objected to the charges against Besigye.
On June 15, 2026, Lukwago was reportedly arrested from his home in Wakaliga in Kampala, by armed security operatives as reported here, here, and here.
Reports indicated that he was held incommunicado before being charged with misprision of treason at the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court and remanded to Luzira Prison.The arrest, charges and detention were reported by the BBC, Uganda Bulletin, Daily Monitor and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). While in detention, Lukwago reportedly fell ill, and prison authorities cited his ill health when he was not produced in court, as reported by NTV Uganda.
Evidence
We used the Debunk Info Verifier, an AI-assisted tool that supports information searches and verification, to investigate the claim. The tool returned results indicating that the claim about Lukwago’s death was false.
The search results also revealed that this was not the first time Lukwago had been falsely declared dead. PesaCheck had previously debunked similar claims, as documented here, here and here
We reviewed reports from established media outlets to determine whether there was credible evidence that Lukwago had died.
The reports indicated that Lukwago had been hospitalized at Mulago National Referral Hospital after his health reportedly deteriorated while in prison custody. Daily Monitor, New Vision, Nile Post, The Independent and NTV Uganda reported on his hospitalisation and deteriorating health
Daily Monitor reported that Lukwago’s lawyer, Medard Lubega Sseggona, confirmed that he had been taken to hospital after his condition worsened in custody. Sseggona said the legal team was seeking an urgent hearing for Lukwago’s bail application to enable him to access appropriate medical care.
“We are doing our best to see if we can get a date to hear his bail application. Unfortunately, so far, we haven’t succeeded. But he is in bad shape,” Sseggona said, according to Daily Monitor.
Although these reports raised concerns about Lukwago’s health, they did not report his death. Instead, they indicated that he had been hospitalized. This evidence does not support the TikTok claim that he had died.
We reviewed the TikTok account that published the claim and found that it was not a credible source of information. The account shares money winning opportunities and other posts containing misinformation.
We reviewed the TikTok account that published the claim and found that it also shared posts promoting money-winning opportunities and other content containing misleading information.
We also sought for an official update from the Uganda Prison Service regarding Lukwago’s status.
The Uganda Prisons Service spokesperson Frank Baine said that detained opposition figures Erias Lukwago and Dr Kizza Besigye were improving, amid concerns about their health and access to specialised medical care.
Methodology
To verify the claim we used;
We used the Debunk Info Verifier to identify relevant information and assess evidence related to the claim.
We searched for credible media reports on Lukwago’s reported death, hospitalisation and health condition.
We reviewed the account’s previous posts to assess the reliability of its content and identify any verifiable examples of misleading information.
Uganda Prisons Service Statement:
We reviewed a video in which Uganda Prisons Service spokesperson Frank Baine addressed concerns about Erias Lukwago’s health to establish what the spokesperson had said about his condition.
Verdict: False
The claim that former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago had died is false. Reports indicated that he had been hospitalized at Mulago National Referral Hospital after his health reportedly deteriorated while in prison custody. The reports reviewed did not substantiate the claim that he had died.