Former Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi has been granted bail by the Butambala Chief Magistrate’s Court after spending nearly two months in custody on charges of inciting violence and managing an unlawful society.
Grade One Magistrate Amina Wahab granted Kivumbi bail on Tuesday, ordering him to pay Shs3 million in cash, while each of his sureties was required to execute a non-cash bond of Shs2 million.
The ruling brings to an end Kivumbi’s latest period of detention, which began after he was re-arrested shortly after securing bail in a separate terrorism case before the International Crimes Division of the High Court.
Kivumbi, who is also the National Unity Platform (NUP) Vice President for Buganda, had previously spent months on remand over terrorism-related charges arising from violence in Butambala following the January 2026 general elections.
On July 9, Justice Susan Okalany of the International Crimes Division granted him Shs10 million cash bail after considering the circumstances surrounding his prolonged detention, his fixed places of residence and the sureties presented by his lawyers. The court also ordered his sureties to execute non-cash bonds of Shs5 million each.
In the ruling, the High Court made clear that the seriousness of the allegations, on its own, could not justify keeping Kivumbi in custody.
“The gravity of the offence alone is not sufficient to deny bail,” Justice Okalany held.
The court also imposed conditions requiring Kivumbi to report monthly to the International Crimes Division and Butambala Chief Magistrate’s Court, surrender his passport and obtain permission before travelling outside Uganda.
However, Kivumbi’s release lasted only a few hours.
On July 10, while travelling from Butambala to Kampala, he was intercepted in Mpigi by security personnel. His lawyer, Samuel Muyizzi, said the vehicle in which Kivumbi was travelling was stopped and the former legislator was taken away in an unmarked vehicle commonly referred to as a “drone”.
“It is true he was returning to Kampala from Butambala where he spent the night,” Muyizzi said. “As we were driving through Mpigi, a drone was driven into the middle of the road, and they picked him up and drove him away at high speed. We have not known his whereabouts since.”
The re-arrest immediately triggered questions over Kivumbi’s whereabouts, with his lawyers and family saying they could not establish where he had been taken.
The matter was subsequently raised in Parliament, where Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi demanded that Government account for the former MP. Ssenyonyi told Parliament that Kivumbi had been intercepted by security personnel while travelling to Kampala and forced into a white Toyota Hiace.
The High Court later directed security agencies to establish Kivumbi’s whereabouts. Police, however, denied holding him, telling court that there was no evidence that he had been arrested or detained by the force.
In an affidavit filed before the High Court, Assistant Commissioner of Police Godwin Tumugumye, on behalf of Inspector General of Police Abas Byakagaba, stated that although Kivumbi’s vehicle had been stopped at a police checkpoint, “he was not arrested, abducted or detained by Police.”
After 19 days out of public view, Kivumbi resurfaced on July 29 at Nateete Police Station before being transferred to Butambala to face a fresh set of charges.
His lawyers alleged that he had been detained incommunicado and tortured during the period when his whereabouts were unknown. Lawyer Medard Lubega Sseggona said the defence could not establish where Kivumbi had been held.
“We have not been able to establish where he has been detained all along because he himself doesn’t know. He was blindfolded, taken and dumped in a place he doesn’t know, where he received severe beatings until he bled profusely after being hit on the head,” Sseggona said.
Kivumbi was subsequently brought before the Butambala Chief Magistrate’s Court, where prosecutors presented fresh charges of inciting violence and managing an unlawful society.
The prosecution alleges that on July 9, at Bugoye Village in Gombe Ward, Gombe Town Council, Butambala District, Kivumbi and others still at large addressed a public gathering and incited members of the public to commit acts of violence against government officials and to unlawfully overthrow the Government.
He is further accused of managing an unlawful society by allegedly organising, encouraging or supporting members of the public to rise against and unlawfully overthrow the Government.
Kivumbi denied the allegations.
The unusual sequence of events has therefore seen Kivumbi move from a High Court bail order, to a reported re-arrest and 19 days incommunicado, before he was produced in court on the fresh charges and remanded to Kitalya Prison.
His fresh case has also been conducted under restrictions on live media coverage. In August, Magistrate Wahab barred live streaming and broadcasting of the proceedings after the prosecution argued that the restrictions were necessary to protect the integrity of the case. The defence opposed the application, arguing that court proceedings should remain open to the public and media.
The prosecution later challenged the suitability of Kivumbi’s proposed sureties, delaying the determination of his bail application. The matter was subsequently fixed for further consideration before the court.
With Tuesday’s bail order, Kivumbi will now defend himself while out of custody as the prosecution case over the alleged July 9 statements and activities proceeds.
The allegations against him remain subject to proof in court, and he is presumed innocent unless convicted.
