The National Unity Platform (NUP) has dismissed a video released by its former Bukedea Woman MP aspirant, Florence Asio, in which she denied being kidnapped and claimed to have withdrawn from the parliamentary race due to family pressure.

NUP Secretary General Lewis Rubongoya said Asio was likely coerced to record the video and that her current whereabouts remain unknown.

“We are used to that. They kidnap our people, intimidate them, and force them to speak in contradiction to their beliefs,” Rubongoya said. “Give it time, Asio will come out and tell the truth. Right now, her phones are off, we have no access to her, and we don’t know who is holding her or who coerced her to record that video.”

Rubongoya cited a previous case involving Eric Mwesigwa, a NUP supporter who was allegedly abducted and tortured before being paraded before the media by army spokesperson Brig. Felix Kulayigye, where he made statements implicating the party.

Asio had expressed interest in contesting against Speaker of Parliament Anita Among for the Bukedea District Woman MP seat.

She was reportedly abducted along with members of her campaign team on their way to the nomination venue in Bukedea District, sparking outrage within NUP, which accused Speaker Among of being behind her disappearance.

Asio’s absence on nomination day paved the way for Speaker Among’s unopposed nomination.

Last week, in a phone conversation with Rubongoya held in the presence of journalists, Asio had broken down in tears, narrating her alleged abduction and trauma.

However, days later, a video surfaced in which Asio retracted her earlier claims, saying she had not been kidnapped but instead withdrew from the race due to family pressure.

“I want to categorically make it clear to everyone that I was not kidnapped,” Asio said in the video. “My decision not to appear on the nomination grounds came out of family pressure, being that I am a daughter to Rt. Hon. Speaker Anita Annet Among. Due to family pressure, I had to pull out.”

She added that her decision to contest “came on short notice” and that her family “was not aware,” leading to mounting pressure that she “could no longer handle.”

Rubongoya maintained that Asio’s video statement was made under duress.

“We don’t blame her,” he said. “She must have been forced to record and release that video.”

Bya ChimpReports