Mpigi, Uganda | URN | The freshly bailed former Butambala County Member of Parliament Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi has been picked up in Mpigi District while heading to Kampala.
Details surrounding the re-arrest remain unclear and authorities are yet to issue an official statement. However, National Unity Platform lawyer Samuel Muyizzi, who is part of Kivumbi’s defence team, confirmed to Uganda Radio Network that the former MP was arrested in Mpigi town while returning to Kampala on Friday afternoon.
“It is true he was returning to Kampala from Butambala where he spent the night,” Muyizzi said. “As we were driving through Mpigi, a drone was driven into the middle of the road, and they picked him up and drove him away at high speed. We have not known his whereabouts since.”
Kivumbi was granted court bail on Thursday after spending nearly seven months in prison. He was first arrested on 22 January 2026 over incidents that occurred following the 15 January general elections.
According to the prosecution, between 11th and 17th January 2026 in Kibibi and Gombe Town Councils, Kivumbi and others allegedly carried out acts aimed at intimidating the government for political purposes. The charges include alleged attacks on Kibibi Police Station and the Butambala Electoral Commission tally centre, damage to the Butambala–Gomba Road, and destruction of vehicles.
Prosecutors also allege that seven people were killed during the incidents. Kivumbi was arraigned before the Butambala Chief Magistrate’s Court and charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The case file was later expanded to include 24 other suspects.
Kivumbi’s lawyers, Erias Lukwago, Samuel Muyizzi, and Kenneth Paul Kakande, also filed a bail application before the International Crimes Division of the High Court seeking his temporary release pending trial.
On Thursday, the International Crimes Division of the High Court granted Kivumbi cash bail of 10 million shillings. Justice Susan Okalany ruled in his favor, citing that he has a fixed place of residence where the state can trace him, presented sound sureties, and that the prosecution had not presented evidence to show he would interfere with ongoing police investigations.
Although authorities are yet to disclose the reason for his arrest, close associates suspect the re-arrest may be linked to sharp statements he made upon arriving in Butambala, in which he criticized the First Family and former Speaker Anita Among for being a hindrance to Ugandans.
Kivumbi, who also serves as the National Unity Platform Vice President for Buganda, lost the Butambala parliamentary seat in the January elections. His reported pick-up in Mpigi comes amid ongoing court case.
Police and other security agencies have not yet commented on the reason for the latest arrest. By press time, Katonga Region Police Spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe was not responding to calls on her known phone number.
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