By The mystery surrounding the disappearance of opposition activist Sam Mugumya deepened yesterday after the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) told the High Court that he is not in their custody.
In an affidavit filed in response to a habeas corpus application by Mugumya’s lawyers, Lt Col Edgar Musasizi, Director of Civil Affairs at the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs, said the army had carried out a search across all its detention centers but found no trace of the activist.
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“We have searched all relevant detention facilities and records and found no entry relating to Sam Mugumya between August 26, 2025, and today,” Lt Col Musasizi stated. He further noted that no officer under the Directorate of Defence Intelligence and Security has knowledge of Mugumya’s whereabouts.
Mugumya was last seen on August 26, 2025, and his sudden disappearance has caused anxiety among family, colleagues, and political allies. Opposition leaders accuse security agencies of abduction, while the state insists it has no case to answer.
The activist is no stranger to controversy. A close ally of former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president Dr. Kizza Besigye, Mugumya has for years been at the forefront of protests against government policies. His activism led to multiple arrests and, most notably, detention in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2014, where he was accused of subversion before being repatriated to Uganda in 2021.
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Despite his brushes with the law, Mugumya remained vocal, mobilizing opposition supporters and challenging state repression. His disappearance has now raised fears among human rights defenders of renewed cases of enforced disappearances targeting political dissenters.
