Kiryowa Kiwanuka: We Don’t Know Where the Missing Opposition Supporters Are

Defence Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka has told Parliament that government does not know the whereabouts of several opposition supporters reported missing by the Opposition, adding that efforts will be made to trace them.

Kiwanuka was responding to the Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi who demanded answers over a string of alleged abductions by security forces.

Ssenyonyi raised the matter during Tuesday’s parliamentary session, telling the House that he and his colleagues have repeatedly flagged the issue of opposition supporters being picked up and held incommunicado for months.

“I, together with colleagues, have been raising the matter of Ugandans who are abducted, and we are very specific with the word abduction. What happens is not provided for in the law; that people are picked up, and for months their whereabouts are not known,” he said.

He cited specific cases to illustrate the pattern, naming Christopher Godie, also known as King Zale, who he said was taken on 21 April and whose location remains unknown to date.

Ssenyonyi also mentioned Baliza William, taken on 10 February, and Sam Mugumya, taken on 26 August 2025, noting that Mugumya’s disappearance is nearing a year with no word on where he is being held.

Ssenyonyi further raised concern over the condition of Mugumya, referencing videos that have circulated showing him unable to walk.

He questioned why government would not simply present him in court if he committed any offence, dismissing official denials that the footage was authentic.

“If government, and I have seen some government officials saying, ‘oh, those are not true videos, why not produce him in court so that his family can take a look at him and know this is what’s happening? Because it’s been a year. This should not be acceptable in my view,” he said.

Responding to the concerns, Kiryowa Kiwanuka did not dispute Ssenyonyi’s account but maintained that government was equally in the dark about the fate of the named individuals.

“Like he said, they are missing. So, clearly, he doesn’t know. We also don’t know, so we have to find out where they are because he called them missing. Since they are missing, we are going to look for them, and then and come back,” the Defence Minister said.