For much of Uganda’s post-independence history, Dr. Miria Matembe has been one of the country’s most recognizable public voices—a lawyer, women’s rights champion, former Minister of Ethics and Integrity, and one of the architects of the 1995 Constitution whose career has been defined as much by confrontation as by public service.
Today, however, it is not her voice that is commanding national attention.
It is her absence.
And security agencies are yet to confirm her whereabouts. So, is she in their hands?
A growing chorus of Ugandans has taken to social media asking a single question: Where is Miria Matembe?
The concern follows a dramatic security operation at her home in Luzira, Kampala, and subsequent reports from her family that they have been unable to reach the veteran politician, raising fresh fears over the safety of one of President Yoweri Museveni’s longest-serving former allies turned fiercest critics.
The story began on Wednesday, June 24, when security operatives—including both uniformed soldiers and plain-clothed personnel—raided Matembe’s residence in Luzira while she was away.
The operatives reportedly spent hours searching the property before leaving with several electronic devices. They reportedly did not explain the purpose of the operation.
Speaking by telephone shortly after the raid, Matembe confirmed that she had not been home when the officers arrived.
“They arrived at my home at around 10:00 AM in my absence. The caretakers informed me that the operatives forced their way inside, ransacked the house, and left with several items,” she told Daily Monitor.
“I am still trying to establish what they were targeting, or if their intention was to abduct me.”
Her husband, Nehemiah Matembe, later described the operation as traumatic, saying the officers searched virtually every room in the house before leaving without offering any explanation.
As public concern mounted, relatives disclosed that they had since been unable to reach Matembe, prompting fears that something may have happened to her after she left home.
By Friday, her whereabouts had not been publicly established.
The uncertainty has fueled intense discussion across Uganda, where enforced disappearances and arrests of opposition figures and government critics have become an increasingly contentious political issue.
Matembe’s case has resonated because of who she is.
A trained lawyer, former Member of Parliament and pioneering advocate for women’s rights, she was among the delegates who helped shape Uganda’s 1995 Constitution. She later served as the country’s first Minister of Ethics and Integrity before falling out with President Museveni over governance, constitutional amendments and democratic reforms.
After leaving government, she reinvented herself as one of the administration’s most outspoken critics, regularly speaking on corruption, human rights, constitutionalism and the shrinking space for political dissent.
In recent weeks, Matembe had become particularly vocal about the conduct of the military and the growing influence of Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces.
She questioned what she described as an apparent lack of accountability surrounding the army chief and criticized what she saw as increasing intimidation of government critics. She also condemned the manner in which opposition figures had been arrested, arguing that every Ugandan deserved to be treated with dignity regardless of political affiliation.
Those remarks have inevitably prompted speculation over whether the raid was connected to her political activism.
However, no evidence has been publicly presented linking the security operation to her criticism of Gen. Muhoozi or any other political statements, and authorities had not, by Saturday, June 27, issued an official explanation for either the raid or her reported disappearance.
For family members, the uncertainty has become the most painful part of the ordeal.
Without an official statement confirming an arrest or revealing her whereabouts, the questions continue to multiply.
For many Ugandans, the mystery surrounding Miria Matembe is no longer simply about one veteran politician. It has become another test of transparency, accountability and the rule of law in a country where the fate of government critics often becomes a matter of national concern.
Until officials provide answers—or Matembe herself reappears publicly—the question echoing across Uganda remains unanswered: Where is Miria Matembe?
Read our earlier story on the raid at Matembe’s home Here.
You can read about how Miria Matembe met and fell in love with her husband, and her warning to men who want to marry her daughters expecting them to cook Here and There.
