By Ben Musanje
The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has strongly condemned the mob killing of national rugby player Sydney Gongodyo, describing the tragedy as a disturbing reflection of the country’s deepening rule of law crisis and declining public confidence in the justice system.
In a letter dated June 8, 2026, addressed to Uganda Rugby Union President Godwin Kayangwe Arinaitwe, ULS President Isaac K. Ssemakadde extended condolences to Uganda’s rugby fraternity following Gongodyo’s death on June 5 in Upper Naguru–Bukoto. The 27-year-old athlete was allegedly beaten to death by a mob after being accused of theft.
As investigations intensify, residents of Bukoto over the weekend identified a boda boda rider captured in a viral video allegedly participating in the fatal assault as Obed Muyombya, a familiar figure at the busy Frobel boda boda stage along Bukoto–Ntinda Road.
The identification has heightened public scrutiny of the killing, which has sent shockwaves through Uganda’s sporting community. Footage widely circulated on social media reportedly shows Muyombya striking Gongodyo with a heavy wooden log during the attack.
Witnesses near Upper Naguru Community Village said Gongodyo was surrounded by an angry crowd after a woman raised an alarm claiming her handbag had been snatched. On Monday, police told journalists that at least eight suspects had been arrested in connection with the murder. Authorities also warned that participants in mob justice incidents risk arrest and prosecution.
Gongodyo was a forward for the Uganda Rugby Cranes XVs and a key player for Stanbic Black Pirates Rugby Club. Teammates and friends have remembered him as a talented athlete, devoted family man, and ambitious sportsman whose dream was to captain the national team.
In its statement, the ULS argued that Gongodyo’s killing was not merely an isolated criminal act but a symptom of broader governance and justice failures confronting the country. The society said the rise in mob violence reflects growing public distrust in institutions mandated to enforce the law and deliver justice.
The lawyers’ body called for a joint national campaign involving both the legal profession and the rugby fraternity to combat lawlessness and strengthen respect for the rule of law. It argued that state violence, weakened institutions, inadequate civic education, and entrenched impunity have contributed to an environment in which citizens increasingly take justice into their own hands.
Ssemakadde also criticized what he described as the limited attention given to rule-of-law concerns during President Yoweri Museveni’s State of the Nation Address on June 4, despite persistent reports of excessive force by security agencies, shrinking civic space, and weaknesses within the justice system.
According to the ULS, when governments and public institutions fail to consistently uphold the law, citizens become more likely to bypass legal processes and resort to vigilantism. The society cited a historic warning from the U.S. Supreme Court that governments which disregard the law risk breeding contempt for legal authority among the public.
Ssemakadde further highlighted the longstanding relationship between Uganda’s legal and rugby communities, urging the sporting fraternity to honour Gongodyo’s memory by joining efforts to resist lawlessness and defend constitutionalism.
The society maintained that the mob violence that claimed Gongodyo’s life must be unequivocally condemned and said his death should serve as a national wake-up call to build a society in which every citizen enjoys equal protection under the law. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
