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Parliament has directed the government to explain the whereabouts of former Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi following his brutal re-arrest shortly after being released on court bail.
The matter was raised on Tuesday by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Joel Ssenyonyi, as an issue of national importance, citing constitutional safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention.
Ssenyonyi told the House that Kivumbi was granted bail on Thursday, July 10, 2026, in a criminal case in which he had stood surety. According to the LoP, Kivumbi was travelling back to Kampala from Butambala the following day when he was intercepted by police officers backed by military personnel and allegedly forced into a white Toyota Hiace, commonly referred to as a “drone.”
Ssenyonyi said neither Kivumbi’s family nor his colleagues had been able to establish his whereabouts since then.
“Mr Speaker, from Friday up to today, Tuesday, his family and we, his colleagues, have been looking for him. We do not know where Hon. Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi is,” Ssenyonyi told Parliament.
He challenged government to answer what he described as two fundamental questions.
“First, where is Hon. Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi? Second, is this now the new normal of how government conducts arrests?”
Ssenyonyi argued that the Constitution provides a clear legal framework governing arrests and detention, making any departure from those procedures a direct challenge to the rule of law.
He cited Article 23 of the Constitution, which guarantees every person’s right to personal liberty and requires that anyone arrested be informed immediately of the reasons for the arrest, be detained only in a legally authorised place and be produced before a competent court within 48 hours unless earlier released.
He also referred to the Human Rights (Enforcement) Act, 2019, which empowers courts to grant remedies where constitutional rights, including protection against unlawful detention and enforced disappearance, have been violated.
Ssenyonyi questioned reports suggesting that Kivumbi had been targeted over remarks he allegedly made during a public address after his release on bail.
“If someone believes Hon. Kivumbi committed an offence through his speech, who determines that? It is the courts of law – not security agencies,” he argued.
He accused government of applying double standards by urging citizens to follow the law while allegedly disregarding lawful arrest procedures.
“Government consistently tells citizens not to take the law into their own hands but to hand suspects over to police. Why then does government fail to follow the very procedures it preaches? We cannot continue preaching water while drinking wine.”
Ssenyonyi maintained that if Kivumbi had committed any offence, he should have been arrested in accordance with the law and presented before court.
“It has now been four days, Mr Speaker, and we still do not know where Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi is.”
He linked Kivumbi’s disappearance to previous incidents involving opposition politicians who were allegedly re-arrested immediately after securing court-ordered release.
He cited the September 2021 re-arrests of former MPs Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana outside Kigo Prison shortly after they were granted bail, as well as the June 2024 arrest of former Busiki County MP Paul Akamba, who was reportedly picked up by armed operatives within court premises after securing bail.
According to Ssenyonyi, such incidents raise broader concerns about respect for judicial decisions and the constitutional principle of separation of powers.
“Have we now as a country departed from what the law clearly stipulates?” he asked.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, who chaired the sitting, referred the matter to Deputy Government Chief Whip Dr Walter Crispus Kiyonga, observing that it went beyond the Attorney General’s advisory role.
Kiyonga acknowledged the seriousness of the matter but requested more time to establish the facts.
“I have heard him clearly. For me to give you a fitting answer, I request that you allow me to return tomorrow and provide a comprehensive response.”
However, Ssenyonyi insisted that while government might need time to establish Kivumbi’s whereabouts, Parliament still deserved an immediate policy clarification on whether such operations reflected an officially sanctioned approach to arrests.
“Perhaps the deputy Government Chief Whip needs time to find out where Hon. Kivumbi is because he was not the one who picked him up. We hope tomorrow Government will tell us where he is.”
“But my second concern is about the new normal. The country needs guidance. Is this now how arrests are conducted? That question should not have to wait until tomorrow.”
Following Ssenyonyi’s intervention, Tayebwa invited Attorney General Sam Mayanja to address the House. Responding, Mayanja rejected suggestions that Uganda had adopted either a “new normal” or an “old normal” regarding arrests.
“The terms ‘new normal’ and ‘old normal’ do not exist in my legal vocabulary.”
He maintained that Uganda remains governed by constitutionalism.
“As far as I know, this Parliament and this country remain under the dispensation of constitutionalism.”
Holding up a copy of the Constitution, he cited Article 23, which requires every arrested person to be detained only in a legally authorised place and to be informed immediately, in a language they understand, of the reasons for arrest and their right to legal representation.
The Attorney General, however, acknowledged that government had not yet established the facts surrounding Kivumbi’s alleged arrest.
“I do not have the facts regarding the alleged arrest. All I know is that we remain under a constitutional dispensation and Mr Kivumbi’s rights are protected.”
He assured the House that government would return with a comprehensive response.
“Tomorrow is not far. We shall return before Parliament with all the facts and ensure that the Constitution, which we all swore to protect, is indeed protected.”
Article 23 of the Constitution guarantees the right to personal liberty, while Article 24 prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Similar protections are provided under the Police Act, the Criminal Procedure Code Act and international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which require arrests to follow due process and detainees to be brought promptly before a competent judicial authority.
Related
, https://observer.ug/uncategorized/where-is-muwanga-kivumbi-parliament-demands-answers-from-govt/
