By Ben Musanje
The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has pledged to intensify efforts to establish the whereabouts of missing People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) activist Sam Mugumya after a heart-rending appeal from his elderly mother, who has spent nearly a year searching for answers following his alleged abduction.
Edinansi Katungwesi, Mugumya’s mother, received a rare visit from the ULS leadership at her home in Rukungiri District, where she recounted the anguish she has endured since 26 August 2025, when her son reportedly disappeared after being seized by armed security operatives in Mbarara.
According to the family and opposition leaders, Mugumya—a former aide to opposition figure Dr Kizza Besigye—was having tea at a restaurant when men believed to be military personnel bundled him into a drone vehicle. He has not been seen publicly since.
Fighting back tears, Katungwesi told the visiting lawyers that she has exhausted every avenue in search of her son but remains in the dark about whether he is alive or dead.
“My son disappeared on 26 August 2025, and up to now I have never known where he is,” she said. “Someone only called to tell me that security men had abducted him. My son had committed no offence, and no one in our village had any problem with him. I pray that the God who gave me this child returns him to me.”
The grieving mother said her distress worsened after a recently circulated viral video allegedly showing Mugumya in a frail condition, although its authenticity has not been independently verified.
She appealed to the government to either release her son or produce him before a competent court if he is accused of any offence.
The ULS delegation, led by Vice President Anthony Asiimwe and accompanied by the Society’s treasurer Arthur Isiko, Secretary Ssali Babu and other council members, travelled to Rukungiri to offer solidarity to the family and reaffirm the legal body’s commitment to pursuing the matter.
“As the Uganda Law Society, we have heard the mother’s cry,” Asiimwe said after the visit. “She does not know whether her son is alive or dead, and she has asked us to help establish the truth. We shall do everything within our mandate to find Sam Mugumya, whether alive or dead.”
He said the Society would continue demanding adherence to constitutional principles and the rule of law.
“We call upon whoever is holding Sam Mugumya to respect his dignity and his constitutional rights. If he committed any offence, he should be produced before a court of law. What is happening amounts to mistreatment and is unacceptable,” Asiimwe said.
He added that the ULS would continue advocating for the release or lawful prosecution of Mugumya and other Ugandans allegedly being held without trial.
Also present during the visit was Gashom Mugyeni, the PFF Electoral Commissioner for Rukungiri District and Mugumya’s uncle, who condemned what he described as a growing pattern of enforced disappearances.
“We joined the Uganda Law Society in visiting Sam’s mother because she deserves answers,” Mugyeni said. “We condemn the continued abduction of citizens by security operatives without informing their families of their whereabouts. If Sam has a case to answer, he should immediately be produced before court.”
Before his disappearance, Mugumya had declared his intention to contest for the Rukungiri Municipality parliamentary seat on the PFF ticket.
While security agencies have previously denied holding him, his family and supporters insist he was taken by military personnel and remains in state custody.
As the ULS delegation departed, Katungwesi’s emotional appeal remained unmistakable: that the same authorities accused of taking her son should either reunite him with his family or bring him before a court, ending nearly a year of painful uncertainty that no mother should have to endure. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
