A video circulated by National Unity Platform leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, has intensified demands for answers over the fate of opposition activist Sam Mugumya. In the post on 31 July 2026, Bobi Wine described the clip as leaked from an unknown detention facility. It shows Mugumya appearing frail and unable to walk without a walking frame. Bobi Wine called it evidence of torture and accused the government of continued denials about his whereabouts. Mugumya, a longtime aide to Dr Kizza Besigye and linked to the People’s Front for Freedom, was reportedly seized on 26 August 2025 from a hotel in Mbarara by armed men in military uniform and plain clothes. Eyewitnesses spoke of a coordinated operation involving a “drone” vehicle. The UPDF and police have consistently denied holding him. In responses to a habeas corpus application, security agencies told court that searches of detention facilities found no record of Mugumya. High Court Justice Collins Acellam earlier ordered his production, but the state maintained it had no knowledge of his location. Nearly a year later, there is still no official confirmation of his whereabouts or condition. The video’s authenticity has not been independently verified by mainstream media or official investigators. No security agency has publicly responded to the specific footage. Opposition figures and human rights advocates link the case to a wider pattern of alleged incommunicado detentions, pointing to recent incidents such as the re-arrest and temporary disappearance of NUP’s Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi. Government officials have typically described such operations as responses to security threats and rejected claims of systematic abuse. Family, supporters and groups including the Uganda Law Society continue to demand that Mugumya be produced before a competent court, granted medical care if in custody, and that unacknowledged detentions end. Uganda’s Constitution and international conventions require prompt court appearance and access to lawyers for any detained person.
Leaked Video Showing Frail Sam Mugumya Reignites Outrage Over Enforced Disappearances
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