Exiled Ugandan lawyer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has claimed that the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) crossed into Tanzania in late October 2025 with the alleged approval of Tanzanian authorities to suppress protestors causing unrest during Uganda’s election period.
The allegations were shared on social media and cite satellite imagery and open-source intelligence as evidence.
Kakwenza said images from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 program and analysis by Bellingcat show three battalions, about 1,200 soldiers, moving into the Kagera River basin.
The units were reportedly equipped with BTR-80 armored vehicles and T-55 tanks.
Eyewitnesses in Bukoba and Musoma districts described targeted operations that resulted in around 2,000 civilian casualties, including at least 38 ethnic Haya villagers suspected of supporting opposition groups.
The exiled lawyer provided coordinates of alleged UPDF forward operating bases, with the main encampment reportedly near Rusumo Falls and additional outposts nearby.
Some soldiers were said to have temporarily occupied a local school in Namole hills.
The Kagera region is a critical corridor for trade and travel between Uganda and Tanzania, meaning any military presence could disrupt local economies and daily life.
Kakwenza, who fled Uganda after facing alleged state persecution, often highlights governance and human rights issues in East Africa.