Muwanga Kivumbi On His Death Bed In SFC Barracks, Tortured And Bleeding – Bobi Wine Confirms

National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has raised fresh concerns about the health and whereabouts of the party’s deputy president for Buganda, Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, who has reportedly remained in the custody of security agencies for more than a week following his rearrest.

Kyagulanyi has alleged that Kivumbi was subjected to severe torture and is currently being held incommunicado while receiving treatment at a military facility. The claims, however, have not been publicly confirmed by either the Uganda Police Force or the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

In a statement, Kyagulanyi said the party had received reports from unnamed sources alleging that Kivumbi had been tortured at the Special Forces Command (SFC) barracks in Kasenyi.

“We’ve received disturbing reports alleging that Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi was tortured to near death at Kasenyi SFC military barracks and is now being hidden from the public while receiving treatment before he can be produced,” Kyagulanyi wrote.

“These reports cannot be dismissed lightly. Many of us have gone through similar ordeals at the hands of this regime and were deliberately hidden from the public until our wounds and the evidence of torture had faded.”

Kyagulanyi further questioned why Kivumbi had remained out of public view for 10 days without any clear explanation from the authorities.

“While the regime keeps the country distracted with endless diversions, it’s now 10 days since our Deputy President of the Buganda region was abducted in broad daylight and since then, he has never been seen again. Neither the police nor the army have accounted for his whereabouts. Where is Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi?” he asked.

Kivumbi was rearrested on July 11, less than 24 hours after the International Crimes Division of the High Court granted him bail in a treason-related case. He was intercepted at a security roadblock in Mpigi District while travelling from his home in Butambala towards Kampala.

The circumstances surrounding his rearrest have since triggered concern among his party colleagues, family members and legal team, particularly because authorities have not publicly confirmed the facility where he is being held or the charges forming the basis of his continued detention.

The incident has also become a subject of debate in Parliament, where Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi has repeatedly demanded that the government account for Kivumbi’s whereabouts.

Ssenyonyi has said that Kivumbi’s family, lawyers and political colleagues had been unable to access or trace him for several days. He also questioned whether the immediate rearrest of suspects after courts grant them bail had become “the new normal” in Uganda.

In response, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of Government Business, Dr Crispus Kiyonga, told Parliament that he had contacted security chiefs and requested additional time to obtain a comprehensive report on the matter before making a formal statement to the House.

Kiyonga later informed Parliament that security agencies had asked for more time to enable him to prepare an appropriate response.

The Speaker of Parliament subsequently directed government leaders to work with security agencies to ensure that Kivumbi’s family, lawyers and doctors are granted access to him while the House awaits the promised government explanation.

Meanwhile, Kivumbi’s lawyers have taken the matter to the High Court, filing an application for a writ of habeas corpus. The legal action seeks an order compelling the authorities holding him to produce him before court and explain the legal basis for his continued detention.

The habeas corpus application has added further legal pressure on the security agencies to clarify Kivumbi’s status and whereabouts.

Kivumbi, a prominent NUP politician and Member of Parliament for Butambala, was facing treason-related proceedings before his release on bail. His rearrest shortly after the court order granting him temporary freedom has drawn criticism from opposition leaders and renewed debate over the treatment of political opponents and suspects in Uganda.

Despite the growing political and legal pressure, neither the Uganda Police Force nor the UPDF had publicly responded to Kyagulanyi’s latest allegations that Kivumbi was tortured or that he is receiving treatment at the Kasenyi SFC barracks by the time of publication.

The absence of an official account has continued to fuel speculation about Kivumbi’s condition and whereabouts, with his family, lawyers, political colleagues and opposition leaders demanding that security agencies either produce him before court or publicly explain the legal basis for holding him.