KAMPALA.The National Unity Platform has renewed calls for the government to account for at least 18 of its supporters allegedly abducted by security forces between 2019 and 2021, alongside long-detained political activist Sam Mugumya.
In a statement issued on Sunday, NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya urged President Museveni to order their immediate release, saying the group’s disappearance remains unresolved despite persistent appeals to state institutions, including the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC).
Rubongoya’s appeal came shortly after the release of two Kenyan nationals, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, who had reportedly been held incommunicado for 38 days.
He said the police, military, and Attorney General had previously denied detaining them, while the judiciary refused to compel the government to produce them in court.
President Museveni later admitted that the two Kenyans had been arrested and accused them of collaborating with Ugandan opposition figures to incite unrest.
“No one was allowed to access them during this period. Not their family members. Not their lawyers. Not their medical personnel,” Rubongoya said, accusing authorities of violating constitutional protections against illegal detention.
He drew parallels between the Kenyan case and that of the missing NUP supporters, many of whom, he said, were picked up in broad daylight by armed operatives and have not been seen since.
Rubongoya also referenced the continued detention of Sam Mugumya,who was eying the Rukungiri Municipality MP seat on Peoples Front for Freedom(PFF) and a former aide to opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye, who was allegedly abducted by security personnel in 2014 and has since disappeared from public record. Government agencies have repeatedly denied knowledge of his whereabouts.
“Unlike our Kenyan brothers, these missing Ugandans do not have a foreign country to pressurise your regime,” Rubongoya said. “They are ordinary Ugandans whose lives have been put on hold for all these years.”
He concluded by appealing directly to the President: “The point has been made. Now, please release these 18 Ugandans. Release Sam Mugumya. Let them go and have a life.”