OP-ED: Lt. Kob Another Target In Diana Kampe’s Twitter Smear Campaign?

In Uganda’s increasingly combative political space, social media has become both a weapon and a war zone. Few wield this tool with as much notoriety as Diana Ampaire Kampe, whose name now carries a reputation for online smear tactics that have left a trail of reputational casualties. The latest victim is Lieutenant Kob, a disciplined officer of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), whose only visible “offense” seems to be his loyalty to family—in particular, his in-law Hon. Mercy Kanyesigye.

For Kob, whose service to the UPDF reflects quiet dedication, this sudden entanglement in Twitter-driven allegations is nothing short of a character assassination. His wife, the eldest sister of Hon. Kanyesigye, makes him part of a family that has long supported Mercy’s academic and political journey. Far from political scheming, Kob’s involvement has been familial—offering guidance and encouragement, not partisan campaigning. Yet Kampe’s circle of masked bloggers has spun this loyalty into a scandal, flooding timelines with baseless accusations.

The charges being hurled at Kob are as weak as whispers in the wind. He is neither a political mobilizer for the UPDF nor a voter playing partisan games. No credible evidence links him to harassing youth or engaging in misconduct. These allegations, stripped of substance, collapse under the weight of scrutiny. What they reveal instead is a calculated strategy to weaponize Twitter for political sabotage.

Sadly, Kob’s case is not unique. Kampe’s Twitter campaigns have previously targeted high-profile figures—from President Museveni’s brother, Toyota Kaguta, to Kirunda Farouk and Molly Kamukama. Each episode followed the same script: unfounded claims, amplified online by faceless accounts, designed to soil reputations in the eyes of the public. This repetitive pattern should alert the UPDF leadership and the public not to fall prey to such digital blackmail.

At its core, this attack is not about Kob the officer—it is about dismantling the private bonds of family. As the proverb goes, “You can’t pick your family, but you can pick your fights.” By dragging Kob into political mudslinging, Kampe’s camp has chosen the wrong fight. No one applies to God for relatives, and punishing a man for standing by his kin is as unfair as it is desperate.

The youth of Amolatar—many of whom recently rallied behind Kampe—deserve better than to be manipulated by smear campaigns. They deserve leaders who build with integrity, not ones who thrive on digital witch-hunts. Kob, by every account, is a man of integrity whose career in service should not be jeopardized for the sake of Twitter clout.

At the end of the day, this is more than a personal attack—it is an assault on values we hold dear: loyalty, service, and family. Lies may trend, but truth has a way of enduring. For the sake of fairness, Lieutenant Kob’s name must be cleared, and the destructive politics of smear must be called out for what it is: a dangerous distraction from the issues that truly matter to Ugandans.

The writer is a Concerned Youth.