Muwanga Kivumbi charged with inciting violence
Muwanga appeared before magistrate Aminah Wahab, and he was remanded until August 11 when the prosecution will respond to his bail application. Muwanga was produced in court after he resurfaced at Nateete police station today (July 29) morning.
Former Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi. (File photo)
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After 19 days since his reported disappearance, former Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi has been arraigned before the Butambala Chief Magistrates Court and charged with inciting violence and managing an unlawful society.
Muwanga appeared before magistrate Aminah Wahab, and he was remanded until August 11 when the prosecution will respond to his bail application. Muwanga was produced in court after he resurfaced at Nateete police station today (July 29) morning.
While his lawyers, led by Medard Sseggona, had asked the court to release him on bail citing several grounds, including alleged physical torture marks on him that required medical attention, the magistrate allowed the prosecution’s prayer to allow it time to verify the documents submitted by Kivumbi and his sureties to ably respond to the application.
Kivumbi has been reported missing since July 9, 2026. His fresh charges come at a time when the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) denied abducting or unlawfully detaining Kivumbi, following a High Court order for his production.
The UPDF asked the High Court to dismiss the application seeking his production before court. In an affidavit filed in the Civil Division of the High Court, Lt Col Edgar Musasizi, the Director of Civil Affairs at the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs, said Kivumbi was neither in the custody of the UPDF nor had he ever been held in any of its gazetted detention facilities.
Musasizi, who swore the affidavit on behalf of the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), said he had personally cross-checked with all gazetted detention facilities under the control of the UPDF and established that Kivumbi was not in their custody at any material time.
“I have personally cross checked with all gazetted detention facilities under the control of the UPDF, and I confirm that the Applicant is not and has never been in the custody of the UPDF at any material time,” Musasizi stated.
The affidavit was filed in response to a habeas corpus application (application for production of Kivumbi dead or alive) filed by Kivumbi’s elder brother, Haji Musa Lutaaya, seeking an order compelling the respondents to produce the former legislator before court or secure his immediate and unconditional release.
The application, registered as Miscellaneous Cause No. HCT-00-CV-MC-0187 of 2026, names the CDF (Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba), Inspector General of Police (Abas Byakagaba) and Attorney General (Sam Mayanja) as respondents.
Musasizi said he had read and understood Lutaaya’s affidavit filed in support of the application but denied all allegations that UPDF officers abducted or unlawfully detained Kivumbi.
“The deponent has not disclosed the basis upon which he concluded that the persons allegedly involved were officers of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, nor has he exhibited any material linking the respondents to the alleged incident,” Musasizi stated.
He further denied allegations that Kivumbi was being held incommunicado, saying there was no evidence demonstrating that the former legislator was in the custody or control of the CDF.
Musasizi also challenged the applicant to provide documentary, testimonial or any other evidence showing that the UPDF had Kivumbi in its custody.
“I know that the applicant has not provided any proof whatsoever, whether documentary, testimonial or otherwise, demonstrating that the 1st respondent(CDF) has him in his custody as is required for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum,” he stated.
According to Musasizi, a writ of habeas corpus can only be issued where there is credible evidence that the person for whom the application is made is being unlawfully detained by the respondent.
He described the application as misconceived, devoid of merit and an abuse of the court process and asked the court to dismiss it with costs.
Terrorism charges
Kivumbi, who is also the National Unity Platform (NUP) deputy president for the Central Region, was reportedly intercepted on July 10, 2026, shortly after he had been released on bail in a terrorism case.
According to the application filed by his lawyers, Kivumbi had been granted a cash bail of sh10m by the International Crimes Division of the High Court on July 9, 2026, before travelling to his ancestral home in Butambala district.
The application states that he spent the night in Butambala and was intercepted the following day at a police checkpoint near Mpigi while travelling back to Kampala.
His brother, Lutaaya, alleged that the people who intercepted Kivumbi did not identify themselves or present a warrant of arrest before taking him away.
The lawyers also alleged that he had not been produced before a competent court within the constitutionally prescribed 48 hours.
The Police have also since denied holding Kivumbi, saying that although his vehicle was stopped at a police checkpoint, he was neither arrested, abducted nor detained by the Police.
The Police further said inquiries conducted at relevant police units and stations had found no record showing that Kivumbi had been arrested or detained from July 10, 2026.
The habeas corpus application was filed seeking an order compelling the security agencies to produce Kivumbi before court and secure his immediate and unconditional release if he was being unlawfully detained.
Kivumbi had earlier spent about six months on remand before Justice Susan Okalany of the International Crimes Division granted him bail of sh10m on July 9. His 23 co-accused were each granted cash bail of sh1m.
They are facing terrorism charges arising from alleged violence in Butambala during the January 15, 2026 general elections, in which prosecution alleges that seven people died. Kivumbi has denied the allegations.
Kivumbi, who contested for the Butambala County parliamentary seat in the 2026 general elections, lost to independent candidate Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi.
He has also previously described himself in court documents as a 52-year-old senior citizen, family man and statesman with a leadership record spanning more than three decades.
The habeas corpus application came amid growing public concern over Kivumbi’s reported disappearance after his release on bail.
On July 22, 2026, the High Court gave security agencies seven days to establish Kivumbi’s whereabouts and directed the respondents to file an affidavit detailing the outcome of their inquiries.
Justice Collins Acellam said the court could not issue a writ of habeas corpus at that stage because Kivumbi’s whereabouts and the person or authority allegedly responsible for his detention had not been established.