The Butambala County Member of Parliament and National Unity Platform deputy president for Buganda Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi has been further remanded to Kitalya Prison until March 10, 2026, alongside 24 co accused as investigations into terrorism charges continue.

Kivumbi was on Tuesday brought from Kitalya Prison to appear before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Butambala District. The charges arise from alleged post-election unrest in Butambala following the January 2026 General Election, during which security forces reportedly shot several people.

He was arrested shortly after the violent incidents that followed the declaration of election results in January and has remained in custody since then.

The prosecution maintains that investigations are ongoing. However, the defence team led by Busiro East MP Medard Lubega Sseggona challenged the continued detention, arguing that Kivumbi’s constitutional rights had been violated.

Sseggona told journalists after the court session that the defence had sought a ruling on an earlier application demanding the release of the accused persons on grounds of rights violations.

“The first purpose was to receive a ruling on our application, which we made before the learned trial magistrate, to release the accused persons on account of violation of their rights,” Sseggona said.

He argued that several constitutional safeguards had been disregarded, particularly in Kivumbi’s case.

“A number of rights, especially for the Honorable Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, were violated. He has never recorded a statement, and the reason he never recorded a statement is because he declined to answer to the dictates of the police. They wanted a particular line of statement, which he declined, especially when he mentioned the murders that took place at his home on that fateful night,” Sseggona said.

According to the defence, they complained to court that investigations were being conducted in a biased manner and asked that police be compelled to ensure impartial and professional handling of the matter.

“We told the court that the police are carrying out lopsided investigations and they need to be compelled to get impartial and objective officers to carry out professional investigations. The magistrate has ruled in his wisdom that he is not in a position to supervise that. It is the work of the Director of Public Prosecutions,” Sseggona said.

He added that the magistrate declined to order the release of the accused on grounds that a formal application would be required to address some of the alleged rights violations.

“Among other things, he was never informed of the offense he committed, he had no access to his lawyer, no access to his next of kin at the time of bringing him to court. The magistrate thinks that should be a formal application, which is not a difficult job anyway, so he declined on those accounts,” Sseggona explained.

The defence also pressed the court to demand clarity from the state regarding the status of investigations and to compel the prosecution to act expeditiously in line with Article 28 of the Constitution, which guarantees a fair and speedy hearing.

“We insisted that we need to know the stage of investigations and to compel the state to act expeditiously as required under Article 28 of the Constitution. So we await that when we come back on March 10. We will also come to court before that date and seek some other remedies,” he said.

Kivumbi and his co-accused remain on remand at Kitalya Prison as the case returns to court next month amid heightened political interest in the outcome.

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President Yoweri Museveni has appointed Mr. Girma Wake as a consultant and acting Chief Executive Officer of Uganda Airlines.

Mr. Girma will replace Jennifer Bamuturaki, who has been fired and faces investigations.

“Reference is made to the current leadership and management weaknesses in Uganda Airlines. I hereby direct that you go ahead and appoint Mr. Girma Wake as a Consultant/Advisor to assist in rectifying a number of management weaknesses in the airline. In addition, he is to serve as Acting CEO until we appoint a new CEOby July 2026, as I had agreed with Ramadhan”. reads Museveni’s letter to Works and Transport Minister, Gen. Katumba Wamala.

Museveni further directed that Mr Girma Wake will work hand in hand with the board until a substantive CEO is appointed.

“I also direct that the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms. Jennifer Bamuturaki, be enabled to step aside immediately and handover to Mr. Girma Wake and the board of Uganda Airlines. The board should go ahead and organise whatever emoluments are due to her.”

In an earlier internal communication circulated to staff last month, Bamuturaki informed employees that the board would soon open the position to applicants.

“The Board will advertise the position of Chief Executive Officer shortly, and you are all encouraged to apply if you meet the required qualifications,” she wrote in a memo seen by Eagle Online.

Although no official exit date was announced, insiders say the decision was sealed during a tense State House meeting in September 2025 when President Yoweri Museveni summoned Uganda Airlines’ top leadership over concerns surrounding aircraft procurement, financial performance, and unresolved audit queries.

Sources familiar with the meeting say the President was unimpressed by explanations offered by management and abruptly ordered Bamuturaki out of the session, signalling a sharp loss of confidence in her leadership. From that point, scrutiny of the airline intensified, with Museveni later directing that her contract should not be extended and instead ordering the board to advertise the position.

The leadership transition has unfolded quietly but now coincides with an escalating criminal investigation into Uganda Airlines’ financial operations.

In a letter dated January 7, 2026, the Criminal Investigations Directorate, working jointly with the State House Anti Corruption Unit, demanded extensive documentation relating to alleged abuse of office, embezzlement of funds and false accounting involving airline officials.

Mr. Wake, aged 83, is an aviation executive who, until 2023, was the board chairman of Ethiopian Airlines.

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The Joint Security Task Team has arrested a key suspect in the murder of Pamela Tumwebaze, the Director of Students Affairs at Uganda Christian University.

In a statement released on Saturday, Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Rachel Kawala confirmed that the suspect, identified as Taewaiko Dak Hussein was arrested on February 14, 2026, in Budaka District.

“The Joint Security Task Team investigating the murder of Tumwebaze Pamela, the Director of Students Affairs at Uganda Christian University has successfully arrested one of the key suspects, identified as Taewaiko Dak Hussein, in connection with the crime,” Kawala said.

She added that the suspect was apprehended at his hideout and was found in possession of the deceased’s property.

“The suspect was arrested today 14th February 2026, at his hideout in Budaka District, where he was found in possession of the deceased’s property, a critical piece of evidence linking him to the murder. Preliminary findings further indicate that the suspect is a former house help to the deceased,” she stated.

Pamela Tumwebaze was attacked and killed earlier this week in a brutal incident that stunned staff and students at the Mukono based institution. She was later laid to rest at her ancestral home in western Uganda, in an emotional burial attended by family, colleagues, students and leaders from the university.

Tumwebaze had served as Director of Students Affairs at Uganda Christian University for several years, earning respect for her firm but compassionate approach to student welfare and discipline. She was widely credited for strengthening student support systems, promoting counseling services and championing student leadership initiatives at the university.

She was a dedicated and approachable person and students remembered her as a motherly figure who always kept her office open to those in need of guidance.

Kawala emphasized that investigations are still ongoing and that more details will be shared as the inquiry progresses.

“Investigations into the matter are ongoing, and further updates will be communicated in due course as progress is made,” she said.

Security agencies have since intensified efforts to establish the full circumstances surrounding the murder as the university community continues to mourn one of its senior administrators.

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