KAMPALA, Uganda (UGNEWSLINE) – A fresh High Court hearing is set to renew scrutiny of an opposition activist’s reported disappearance, with lawyers seeking answers from Uganda’s senior security officials over his whereabouts and the circumstances surrounding his alleged detention.
Uganda’s High Court is expected to hear an application on Monday seeking judicial intervention in the case of Sam Mugumya, an opposition activist and aide to veteran politician Kizza Besigye, whose whereabouts have been the subject of a prolonged legal dispute.
The application, reportedly scheduled for October 26, 2026 before Justice Simon Peter Kinobe, names the Attorney General, Chief of Defence Forces and Inspector General of Police among the respondents. It seeks to compel the relevant authorities to account for Mugumya’s whereabouts and clarify whether he has been held in custody.
The case centres on a habeas corpus application, a legal mechanism that allows courts to require authorities to produce a detained person and justify the legality of their detention.
Mugumya was reportedly seized by armed men in Mbarara on August 26, 2025. His lawyers have alleged that he was taken into military custody, raising questions about whether the authorities have complied with constitutional safeguards governing detention.
The security agencies have disputed claims that Mugumya is being held in their facilities.
In an affidavit filed in earlier proceedings, Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Musasizi, a military officer serving in the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs, said checks of detention facilities under the respondents’ control had not established that Mugumya was or had been in their custody.
The competing accounts have placed the case at the intersection of individual liberty, military accountability and the courts’ authority to scrutinise alleged detention by state agencies.
The High Court had previously issued a habeas corpus order in proceedings concerning Mugumya in September 2025, seeking to establish the circumstances of his reported detention.
His legal team has since continued pursuing judicial intervention amid difficulties in securing a substantive hearing.
The latest application, registered as Miscellaneous Cause No. HCT-00-CV-MC-0208-2026, follows efforts by the lawyers to have the matter heard after earlier scheduling difficulties.
The precise scope of the court’s consideration will depend on the application and submissions made by the parties.
The case has also attracted attention following allegations by former military officer Herbert Matanda Mabonga, who circulated video footage purportedly showing Mugumya in a weakened condition.
The circumstances surrounding the footage have not been independently established, and the claims made by Mabonga have been disputed by the military.
The proceedings come amid broader concerns raised by opposition figures and rights advocates about allegations of unlawful detention and the treatment of political activists in Uganda.
Such allegations require independent scrutiny and should be distinguished from findings established by a court.
Uganda’s Constitution protects personal liberty and recognises habeas corpus as a non-derogable right under Article 44(d), meaning the right cannot be suspended even during a state of emergency.
The forthcoming hearing could provide an opportunity for the court to examine the evidence, hear the responses of the officials named in the application and determine what further steps are legally justified.
For Mugumya’s lawyers and supporters, the central issue remains whether his whereabouts can be established and whether any detention, if confirmed, has a lawful basis.
The authorities named in the proceedings will have an opportunity to respond through the judicial process.
