Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I 19 days after his disappearance from the public eye, former Butambala County Member of Parliament Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi resurfaced under dramatic circumstances after unidentified operatives reportedly dropped him at Nateete Police Station before he was swiftly transferred to the Butambala Magistrates Court.
By the time we went to press, Kivumbi had just arrived at the Butambala Magistrates Court where police had delivered him as he awaited the hearing of his case.
Kivumbi’s unexpected reappearance on Wednesday morning brought an end to nearly three weeks of uncertainty that had sparked intense legal battles, political concern and growing public scrutiny over his whereabouts following his reported re-arrest shortly after being granted bail.
The former legislator had been missing since July 10, 2026, when he was intercepted by unidentified security operatives in a vehicle commonly described as a “drone” shortly after leaving prison on bail. He had just secured his temporary freedom from the International Crimes Division of the High Court after spending seven months on remand over terrorism-related charges.
Witnesses said he was intercepted in Mpigi Town and driven away at high speed by the unidentified operatives, after which he disappeared from public view.
For the next 19 days, neither his family, lawyers nor political colleagues knew where he was being held.
His disappearance prompted his legal team to file a habeas corpus application before the High Court, seeking orders compelling security agencies to produce him in court or disclose where he was being detained.
The case attracted widespread attention after High Court Judge Collins Acellam directed the Chief of Defence Forces, the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General to investigate Kivumbi’s whereabouts and file reports before the court.
In their responses, both the government and the police maintained that they had no knowledge of the former MP’s whereabouts.
The Uganda People’s Defence Forces also distanced itself from the matter.
In an affidavit filed before the High Court, Lt Col Edgar Musasizi, the UPDF Director of Civil Affairs at the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs, denied allegations that the military had abducted or detained Kivumbi.
Musasizi stated that all gazetted military detention facilities had been checked and confirmed that the former legislator had never been held in UPDF custody. He also maintained that there was no evidence linking military personnel to Kivumbi’s disappearance.
Ironically, Kivumbi resurfaced just as the court was expecting reports from the state agencies regarding the investigations into his whereabouts.
According to reports, unidentified operatives left him at Nateete Police Station on Wednesday morning before quietly departing.
His presence at the station quickly became known to officials from the National Unity Platform (NUP), who had been attending the High Court to follow up on the habeas corpus application.
NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya announced that the opposition politician had been found at Nateete Police Station after nearly three weeks of incommunicado detention.
Rubongoya said members of Kivumbi’s legal team immediately rushed to the station upon receiving the information.
About the Author
