Former MP Muwanga Kivumbi Re-Arrested by Security Operatives After Court Bail

In a dramatic turn of events, the former Member of Parliament for Butambala County, Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, has been intercepted and picked up by security operatives. The high-profile re-arrest occurred on Friday, barely a day after he was granted bail by the International Crimes Division of the High Court, ending nearly six months of detention on remand.

Kivumbi’s defense counsel, Sam Muyizzi, confirmed the development, stating that his client was intercepted in Mpigi district while in transit. Muyizzi described the operation as an abduction-style arrest, noting that the veteran politician was whisked away in an unmarked white van, a vehicle type locally referred to as a “drone.”

Visual evidence of the daytime operation, captured in a video published by digital news platform AfroMobile, shows traffic police officers initially blocking Kivumbi’s white Toyota Land Cruiser along the highway.

As the former lawmaker opened his door to step out and engage the officers, several plainclothes security operatives quickly swarmed the vehicle. The operatives forcefully lifted Kivumbi and bundled him into the rear of a waiting, numberless white drone van before speeding away from the scene.

The sudden re-arrest comes less than 24 hours after Justice Susan Okalanyi presided over a highly anticipated session at the International Crimes Division of the High Court, where she approved a consolidated bail application for Kivumbi and 16 of his co-accused. The judicial decision had temporarily concluded Kivumbi’s grueling 169-day stint on remand at Luzira Maximum Security Prison.

Under the strict terms of his short-lived release, Kivumbi had been ordered to deposit a substantial cash bail of Shs 10 million, while each of his 16 co-accused individuals was granted bail at Shs 1 million cash.

The court had also slapped the group with stringent tracking conditions, ordering them to report to the court registry on a monthly basis and explicitly barring them from traveling outside the country without seeking formal permission from the judiciary while their substantive trial continues.

ALSO READ:

• Court Martial Convicts Wakiso Taxi Driver Over UPDF Attire
• Court Martial Sentences Two State Informers to Death
• Renegade Lt. Gen. Peter Elwelu Apprehended in Soroti City Over Subversive Activities
• Abraham Luzzi Slasts UEDCL After Blackout Interrupts Birthday Party
• Celebrated Comedian Kapere Passes Away

Dr. Muwanga Kivumbi and his co-accused are facing grave capital offenses centered on terrorism and murder. State prosecutors allege that the group orchestrated a series of violent attacks during the highly contested January 2026 general elections.

According to the criminal charge sheet, the offenses were committed between January 11 and January 15, 2026, within Kibibi in Butambala District. The prosecution contends that the accused led coordinated assaults on a localized polling station and subsequently targeted the Kibibi Police Station.

The state maintains that the violent encounters resulted in the tragic deaths of seven individuals, alongside extensive property damage. Kivumbi and his co-accused have vehemently denied all the charges, maintaining that the state’s case is a calculated political fabrication aimed at neutralizing prominent opposition voices.

As of Friday evening, security agencies, including the Uganda Police Force and military intelligence wings, had not yet issued any official statement regarding the legal basis for Kivumbi’s re-arrest or his current place of detention. Legal analysts note that the practice of re-arresting high-profile suspects immediately after getting court bail remains a persistent point of friction between the executive security apparatus and the Ugandan judiciary.