Opposition activist and Dr Kiiza Besigye’s Former Aide Sam Mugumya was abducted this morning while having breakfast at NIM Hotel, Nyamitanga, Mbarara.
According to witnesses who said he was bundled into a drone van by a group of uniformed soldiers accompanied by plain-clothed operatives.
He is expected to be transferred to Kampala and held at an undisclosed detention facility, according to persons familiar with the operation.
Hotel staff and patrons described a swift, coordinated pickup shortly after 8am, saying the group moved directly to the dining area before escorting Mugumya outside and driving off.
By press time, security agencies had not issued an official statement on the arrest, the grounds for detention, or his whereabouts.
A figure long entangled with the state
Mugumya, a former aide to opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye and a onetime youth mobiliser in the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), has a long record of arrests linked to political activity:
- In 2011, he was charged with treason following protests; the case collapsed in 2013 after prosecutors failed to present evidence, according to Human Rights Watch.
- On October 21, 2014, he was arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo and later held at Ndolo military prison without trial for years. Ugandan officials at the time accused him of links to rebel activity and illegal entry; Amnesty International documented concerns that he was at risk of torture while in incommunicado detention.
- After eight years in detention, he was released in October 2022 and eventually returned home. Multiple outlets reported that Congolese and Ugandan accounts of the basis for his detention diverged, with allegations ranging from illegal entry to subversion that were never tested in a civilian court.
Profiles in the Ugandan press have consistently identified Mugumya as a high-profile government critic who has faced repeated arrests, allegations and harassment over the past decade.
What’s next
Details of any charges stemming from today’s arrest were unavailable at publication.
Lawyers and relatives say their immediate concerns are access to counsel and confirmation of his place of detention—issues that have featured prominently in Mugumya’s past run-ins with security agencies.
This story will be updated if security officials or Mugumya’s legal team issue statements, or once we independently verify his detention location in Kampala.
