The National Unity Platform (NUP) says it will file a habeas corpus application against the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) after Buganda Vice President Muhammad Kivumbi Muwanga allegedly disappeared following his re-arrest in Mpigi District.
According to the party and Kivumbi’s lawyers, his whereabouts remain unknown since he was arrested on Friday while returning to Butambala, barely a day after he was granted bail by the International Crimes Division of the High Court. NUP lawyer Samuel Muyizi said legal teams have searched police stations in Mpigi, Kampala and other areas but were informed that Kivumbi was not being held there.
Muyizi said the lawyers also received unverified reports that Kivumbi had been taken to Mbuya Military Headquarters but had not been produced before any court. “We now have no option but to file a habeas corpus application against the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of Defence Forces,” Muyizi said, adding that the application is intended to compel authorities to produce Kivumbi before court if he is in lawful custody.
NUP spokesperson and Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, condemned what he described as a pattern of illegal arrests and enforced disappearances, arguing that suspects should be arrested, detained and prosecuted in accordance with the law. He rejected suggestions that Kivumbi’s criticism of President Yoweri Museveni and other senior government officials justified his re-arrest, saying expressing political opinions is not a criminal offence.
Ssenyonyi maintained that if Kivumbi committed any offence, he should have been arrested through lawful procedures, taken to a recognised detention facility and presented before a competent court.
Kivumbi was initially arrested on January 22, 2026, over violence that allegedly occurred following the January 15 general elections. According to the prosecution, between January 11 and 17 in Kibibi and Gombe Town Councils, he and others allegedly participated in acts intended to intimidate the government for political purposes. The charges include alleged attacks on Kibibi Police Station and the Butambala Electoral Commission tally centre, damage to the Butambala–Gomba Road and destruction of vehicles.
Prosecutors also allege that seven people were killed during the incidents. He was charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act before the Butambala Chief Magistrate’s Court, with the case later expanded to include 24 other suspects. Last Thursday, the International Crimes Division of the High Court granted Kivumbi cash bail of Shs10 million.
Justice Susan Okalany ruled that he had a fixed place of residence, had presented substantial sureties, and that the prosecution had not demonstrated that he would interfere with ongoing investigations. The circumstances surrounding Kivumbi’s re-arrest remain unclear. Neither the Uganda Police Force nor the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) had publicly explained the reasons for his arrest by the time of publication.
His associates believe the re-arrest may be linked to remarks he made after his release from prison in Butambala, where he sharply criticised President Museveni, First Lady Janet Museveni, Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba and former Speaker Anita Among. Those claims have not been confirmed by the authorities-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
