Lumbuye will be brought to court at the right time- Government

The Government has said that vlogger and critic Fred Lumbuye will be arraigned before courts of law at the right time, urging Ugandans to get busy with their livelihoods and leave the talk about Lumbuye to the relevant authorities.

The message was carried in a statement from the Minister for International Relations, Henry Okello Oryem while appearing in the media on Tuesday morning.

Oryem said that Lumbuye is alive and should not be a subject of worry, at the same time declining to mention where he could be.

"He (Lumbuye) is alive, people shouldn't be worried about him,” he said.

“The relevant authorities will at the right time bring him before courts of law. People should be busy looking for survival, not asking about Lumbuye,” he added.

It should be noted that the minister had prior indicated that Lumbuye would be on a plane to Uganda after being arrested in Turkey and consequently deported.

However, Lumbuye was a no-show as stated by the Minister, sparking debate on where he could be held.

A team from the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) traveled to Turkey on a fact-finding mission on Lumbuye’s whereabouts but they could neither get in touch with Lumbuye nor find where he is held.

The same team reportedly got in touch with a Turkish lawyer who is said to have been in contact with Lumbuye to support him in applying for asylum, but the lawyer went AWOL.

Now Oryem says that people should stop asking about Lumbuye and concentrate on far more important things like livelihoods.

"People should go around trying to look for their survival, they should work hard to look after their families and increase their household income. In Uganda, there are many things that are more important than Lumbuye.” Oryem said.