The mother of missing political activist and People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) mobiliser Sam Mugumya has appealed to the Uganda Law Society (ULS) to help establish her son’s whereabouts, nearly a year after he was allegedly abducted.
Edinansi Katungwesi submitted a petition to ULS President Isaac Ssemakadde through Vice President Anthony Asiimwe on 3 August, saying repeated attempts to obtain assistance from the police had yielded no results.
“My son Sam Mugumya was abducted on August 26, 2025, in Mbarara. From that day, I had never seen him until recently when I saw a video and photograph of him struggling to stand, which gave me hope that he is still alive,” Katungwesi wrote.
She said she reported her son’s disappearance to the police immediately after the incident but had received no meaningful response.
“I do not know where he is, and I have never heard from him. That is why I am pleading with the Uganda Law Society to help me find him,” she added.
Katungwesi handed over the petition on Monday during a visit by a ULS delegation to her home in Rukungiri District.
Speaking afterwards, Asiimwe said the society would formally engage the relevant government institutions, security agencies and the courts to determine Mugumya’s legal status and whereabouts.
“His mother has reached out to us to help find where Sam Mugumya is, and as the Uganda Law Society, we will do our best to help her establish whether her son is alive or dead,” he said.
He also called on the authorities to respect constitutional safeguards, urging that Mugumya either be released or produced before a competent court if he faces criminal charges.
“If he committed any offence, let him be presented before court because he has rights. Holding him incommunicado is unacceptable,” Asiimwe said.
A year since his disappearance
Mugumya, a former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) mobiliser, was reportedly abducted on August 26, 2025 while having breakfast at NIM Hotel in Nyamitanga, Mbarara City.
Witnesses said armed men believed to be security operatives forced him into an unmarked van, commonly referred to as a “drone”, before driving away.
Despite habeas corpus applications filed by his family, the authorities have neither produced him before court nor publicly acknowledged holding him in custody.
His disappearance came less than three years after his release from detention in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he spent more than eight years following his 2014 arrest on allegations of plotting a rebellion.
He was released in October 2022 without being formally tried.
Fresh concerns
Public concern intensified on July 31, 2026, after National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi shared a video on X that appeared to show Mugumya in detention.
Kyagulanyi alleged the footage had been leaked from an undisclosed detention facility and claimed it showed the activist unable to walk without assistance, alleging he had been subjected to torture while being held incommunicado.
The authenticity of the video has not been independently verified.
Human rights advocates and opposition figures have continued to demand Mugumya’s immediate release or appearance before court.
PFF Electoral Commissioner for Rukungiri District, Mugyeni Gashom, condemned the practice of enforced disappearances and urged the government to account for Mugumya’s whereabouts.
The Uganda Law Society has said it will continue pressing for the release or lawful prosecution of all detainees allegedly being held incommunicado across the country.
