Uganda Opposition Demands Answers on Missing MP Kivumbi

A political storm has erupted in Uganda's Parliament as the Opposition demands to know the location of former Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi. He was reportedly taken by armed security personnel soon after being granted bail.

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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.

Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, raised the issue, emphasizing a troubling pattern of enforced disappearances that bypass established legal procedures. Ssenyonyi informed Parliament that Kivumbi had been granted bail on Thursday, July 10, 2026, after standing surety in a criminal case. The following day, while traveling back to Kampala, Kivumbi was allegedly intercepted by police and military personnel and forced into a vehicle.

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First, where is Hon. Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi? Second, is this now the new normal of how Government conducts arrests?

"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 stated. He posed two critical questions to the government: "First, where is Hon. Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi? Second, is this now the new normal of how Government conducts arrests?"

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If someone believes Hon. Kivumbi committed an offence through his speech, who determines that? It is the courts of law--not security agencies.

Ssenyonyi argued that the Constitution of Uganda, specifically Article 23, guarantees personal liberty and mandates that arrested individuals be informed of the reasons for their arrest, detained in authorized places, and produced in court within 48 hours. He criticized the government for allegedly disregarding these legal frameworks, questioning why it fails to follow the procedures it advises citizens to uphold. The Opposition fears Kivumbi may have been targeted due to remarks made during a public address, but insists that any alleged offense should be determined by the courts, not security agencies.

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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.