The National Unity Platform (NUP) is mourning the death of Sarah Nantumbwe Ddamulira, the wife of one of its supporters who disappeared five and a half years ago, with party leaders lamenting that she died without ever learning the fate of her husband. NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya announced that Nantumbwe passed away on Saturday after a prolonged period of illness during which she reportedly received treatment at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
According to Rubongoya, Nantumbwe was the wife of John Ddamulira, a NUP supporter who was abducted from his spare parts shop at Kisekka Market in November 2020 and has never been seen again. “Like other family members of those disappeared, Sarah has spent the last five years moving everywhere looking for her husband,” Rubongoya said in a statement. “It is most painful that she has passed on without finding any answers.”
He added that the deceased’s body had been taken to her home in Makindye Division, with burial expected on Monday. NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, who is currently in the United States, described Nantumbwe’s death as another painful reminder of the plight facing families of missing persons.
“I have received the sad news of the death of Ms. Sarah Nantumbwe, a wife to comrade John Ddamulira who was abducted from his spare parts shop in Kisekka Market in November 2020 and has never been seen again. She has died carrying the pain of not knowing what became of her husband, a pain that many families of our disappeared know far too well,” Kyagulanyi wrote on X.
The opposition leader also recalled the death of Monica Nabukenya Kibalama in November 2025. Nabukenya was the wife of John Bosco Kibalama, another NUP supporter who disappeared in June 2019 after being taken by armed men.
Kyagulanyi said both women spent years searching for answers that never came. The death of Nantumbwe has renewed concerns over Uganda’s unresolved cases of alleged enforced disappearances, many involving opposition supporters following the 2021 general election campaigns.
NUP has consistently maintained that its supporters were abducted by security operatives between 2019 and 2021 and remain missing, allegations that government agencies have repeatedly denied or disputed.
Human rights reports and media investigations have identified at least 18 individuals whom NUP says remain unaccounted for. These include John Bosco Kibalama, John Ddamulira, Shafik Wangolo, Martin Lukwago, Michael Ssemuddu, Vincent Nalumoso, Dennis Zimbula, Muhammad Kanatta, George Katumba, Moses Mbabazi, Yuda Ssempijja, Alphat Mugumya, Peter Kitya, Mustapha Muwemba, Hassan Mubiru, Isma Ssesaazi and Godfrey Kisembo, among others.
NUP has over the years argued that the actual number of disappeared supporters is higher, although many cases remain disputed and unverified. In a 2022 submission to Parliament’s Human Rights Committee, the party listed numerous supporters it said had been abducted between 2019 and 2021, including John Bosco Kibalama and John Ddamulira, who remained missing despite court orders and family efforts to locate them.
The disappearance of Kibalama has particularly attracted national attention after Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja stated in 2023 that he was in government custody facing allegations linked to attacks on police officers, remarks that later generated controversy as his family and lawyers continued demanding access to him.
The latest development comes just days after Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi again raised concerns on the floor of the House over alleged abductions and missing persons, demanding accountability from government. Prime Minister Nabbanja, who is Leader of Government Business, responded that the Minister of Internal Affairs would present a report to Parliament on the matter-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
