WHERE’S MUWANGA KIVUMBI? NUP Demands Answers from Museveni State

Main opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) has condemned the abduction of its Deputy President for Buganda, Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, accusing security agencies of seizing him in broad daylight just hours after he was released on bail.

In a followup statement issued two days after the incident, the party noted that Kivumbi was taken by armed, masked operatives at a police roadblock in Mpigi in full view of the public and security officers.

“The abduction of our Deputy President happened in full view of cameras. The police was present as masked security operatives brandishing rifles pounced on Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi at a road block in Mpigi, bundled him to a waiting drone (Toyota Hiace) and whisked him away to an unknown destination,” the party said.

NUP noted that Kivumbi had “just secured his bail at the ICD court after braving over six months on remand at Kitalya Prison.”

The party questioned why no lawful arrest procedures were followed, arguing that the circumstances surrounding Kivumbi’s disappearance violated constitutional safeguards.

“The procedure of detaining a suspect is well known under Article 23 where one has a right to know why he or she is being arrested, which security agency is conducting the arrest, and detention at a gazetted facility for 48 hours.”

The statement added that suspects are constitutionally entitled to legal representation, medical care, protection from torture and notification of their relatives.

“As the norm has become of late, none of all this has applied in the case of Hon. Kivumbi. Incommunicado detentions have become a common occurrence,” NUP said.

Granted bail after six months on remand

Kivumbi was granted bail by the International Crimes Division of the High Court on July 9, 2026, after spending more than six months on remand at Kitalya Prison on terrorism-related charges.

Justice Susan Okalany released him on a cash bail of Shs10 million, while his co-accused were also granted bail under varying conditions.

However, less than a day after walking free, Kivumbi was intercepted by armed security operatives in Mpigi District while travelling from Butambala to Kampala. Eyewitnesses said he was forced into a Toyota Hiace, commonly referred to as a “drone,” and driven away.

His lawyers and family later said they had not been informed where he had been taken, raising fears of an incommunicado detention.

The Uganda Law Society also condemned the reported re-arrest, demanding that authorities either release Kivumbi immediately or produce him before a competent court in accordance with the law.

By Sunday, there had been no official public explanation from security agencies detailing the legal basis for Kivumbi’s reported re-arrest or confirming where he was being held.

Meanwhile, former Lord Mayor Lukwago’s health condition remains a worrying issue to his family, after he came out and expressed fears that he could die in prison, even as he asked God to give him a less painful death. (See Details Here and There).