When opposition activist Sam Mugumya vanished in mysterious circumstances from NIM Hotel in Mbarara, his disappearance triggered a wave of questions that continue to haunt the country and expose the cracks in Uganda’s much-touted security surveillance project.
Mugumya, a long-time associate of Forum for Democratic Change stalwart Dr. Kizza Besigye, was reportedly abducted by unknown men from the hotel premises, bundled into a waiting vehicle and driven off in the dead of night. Since then, his whereabouts remain unknown.
Lawyers representing Mugumya’s family swiftly filed a habeas corpus application, pressing the state to produce him in court. But in response, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) distanced themselves from any involvement, insisting that none of their operatives had carried out the arrest.
That denial, while expected, has done little to quell suspicions or ease the grief of relatives searching for answers.
Basing on family and Friends and hotel accounts, Mugumya who has been eyeing member of parliament seat for Rukungiri under PFP was picked by men in military camouflage from the hotel.
The case has once again exposed the puzzling gaps in Uganda’s CCTV camera network. For years, government has invested heavily in surveillance technology under the stewardship of the Uganda Police Force, installing cameras across highways and major towns with the promise of boosting public safety and helping investigators track down criminals.
Yet, in Mbarara, one of the busiest cities in western Uganda, investigators seem to be flying blind.
“If we have cameras on almost every junction in Kampala and on major highways, how is it possible that a man can be snatched from a public place and vanish without a trace?” one lawyer asked outside court.
The disappearance has sparked heated debate on the effectiveness of the CCTV project, with critics accusing authorities of selective usage.
While ordinary theft and street crime cases are often pursued with camera evidence, politically sensitive cases appear to vanish into thin air.
Now, many fear Mugumya’s case may end the same way as that of John Bosco Kibalama, a member of the National Unity Platform (NUP), who also disappeared without a trace.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja once told Parliament that Kibalama was under government custody, but months later no agency has ever produced him in court. In a recent twist, UPDF spokesperson Brig. Felix Kulayigye—who has downplayed Mugumya’s disappearance as part of his “history of vanishing”—claimed that Kibalama is actually outside the country.
Yet, he has repeatedly failed to name which foreign nation allegedly hosts the missing opposition figure, leaving critics convinced this is another official smokescreen.
Opposition voices say such contradictions are designed to buy time and deflect accountability, while families of the missing are left in painful uncertainty.
Without transparency and with cameras turned into silent witnesses, the fate of Mugumya like Kibalama before him risks being filed away in the growing catalogue of Ugandan disappearances where no one is held responsible and no truth is ever officially told.
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