The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has strongly condemned the abduction and torture of People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) members by armed security personnel at Nakawa Court, urging the government to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators.
The incident, which unfolded in broad daylight on Wednesday, has sparked outrage among legal professionals and human rights defenders who say the increasing lawlessness among security forces threatens the country’s justice system and civil liberties.
“If those who violated the rights of Ugandans in front of the courts are not punished, it will lead Uganda backwards,” said ULS Vice President Anthony Asiimwe.
“Citizens will resort to mob justice, and the rule of law will collapse.”
One of the abducted individuals, Umar Katongole, a member of PFF, was later found abandoned at a hospital in Naalya with visible injuries.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Katongole recounted the ordeal.
“They beat me badly — my mouth, legs, and arms were all injured,” he said.
“They accused me of harassing officers in court. After torturing us, they dumped me and another colleague in Mbuya. We had to find our own way home.”
Katongole said his abductors were dressed in civilian clothes and moved in an unmarked van, commonly referred to as a "drone" — a vehicle often linked to illegal detentions in Uganda.
The attack has sent shockwaves through Uganda’s legal fraternity, which now fears a return to a dark era where mob justice thrived due to diminished trust in state institutions.
“We cannot afford to go back to those days. The government must act swiftly to show that no one is above the law — not even rogue operatives in security uniforms,” Asiimwe added.
ULS is now calling for a transparent investigation and immediate prosecution of those involved in the court abductions.
The Wednesday incident is the latest in a string of mysterious disappearances and unlawful detentions that have been reported across the country, targeting lawyers, opposition politicians, and ordinary civilians alike.