In a statement dated July 10, 2026, and signed by ULS Vice President Anthony Asiimwe, the Law Society said it was "gravely alarmed" by reports that Kivumbi had been abducted in Mpigi District barely 24 hours after the International Crimes Division of the High Court granted him bail.
According to the ULS, it received reports directly from Kivumbi's family shortly after the incident.
The Society said that, as of the time of issuing its statement, Kivumbi's whereabouts remained unknown and no security agency had formally communicated the legal basis for his arrest or detention.
"This incident follows President Yoweri Museveni's public address of 4 July 2026 in which he appeared to endorse the ongoing wave of abductions, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial searches, torture, politically motivated prosecutions, prolonged pre-trial detention, and other manifestations of military-driven repression," the statement read.
Kivumbi was re-arrested on Friday afternoon at a security roadblock in Mpigi District while travelling home after spending five months on remand on terrorism-related charges, which he denies.
Eyewitnesses said his vehicle was intercepted by police and other security personnel at Mpigi Town, where he was directed to leave the main road and head toward Mpigi Police Station.
As the vehicle began turning off the road, armed men dressed in Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) uniforms, some wearing face coverings, emerged from different directions and surrounded the vehicle.
According to witnesses, Kivumbi did not resist arrest.
He was pulled out of the vehicle and forced into a waiting drone vehicle before being driven away.
Attempts by journalists and supporters to follow the vehicle were blocked by security personnel.
The arrest came shortly after Kivumbi had left his home, where hundreds of supporters had gathered since Thursday night to welcome him following his release from prison.
At around 3:30 p.m., he began his journey to Kampala, making stops at several trading centres and market stalls where supporters greeted him and celebrated his release after months in custody.
The atmosphere remained celebratory until the convoy reached Mpigi, where the security roadblock was mounted and Kivumbi was taken into custody.
On Thursday, the International Crimes Division of the High Court had granted Kivumbi cash bail of Shs10 million after he fulfilled the court's conditions.
He had been remanded in January on terrorism-related charges.
By press time, no new charges or official explanation for his renewed detention had been made public.
The Uganda Law Society said the incident constituted a serious violation of constitutional and international legal protections.
The Society stressed that abductions and enforced disappearances are crimes under both Ugandan and international law and cannot be legitimized by any public statement regardless of the office from which it is made.
It further cited Article 23 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to liberty and protection from arbitrary arrest, requiring that any arrest be lawful, communicated, and that a suspect be produced before court within 48 hours.
The ULS also argued that the surveillance and targeting of the deputy president of a registered political party immediately after his release on bail undermines multiparty democracy and judicial independence in contravention of Articles 69 and 128 of the Constitution.
The Law Society demanded the immediate disclosure by the Uganda Police Force, the UPDF, and other security agencies of Kivumbi's whereabouts and the legal basis for his detention.
It also called for his immediate production before a competent court of law with access to lawyers of his choice and his family, while demanding an end to abductions and enforced disappearances and accountability for all those responsible regardless of command.
"The rule of law cannot survive where citizens, particularly political leaders, are taken from public roads with impunity," the statement read, urging the Uganda Human Rights Commission, the Speaker of Parliament, and the international community to intervene urgently to secure Kivumbi's safety.
The Law Society also announced a peaceful public action under the theme "Occupy the Judiciary," calling on friends, relatives, and supporters of political prisoners to assemble at the Judiciary Headquarters on Friday, July 17, 2026, at 8:00 a.m.
According to the ULS, participants will present petitions to the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice, and the Principal Judge demanding that the Judiciary publicly state its position on the President's July 4 address and on what the Society described as the use of courts to "launder a reign of terror."
"Silence in the face of abductions, followed by flamboyant prayer breakfasts, cannot normalize these atrocities," the statement read, questioning whether the Judiciary would wait "for the abduction or killing of a judicial officer before the Bench joins the Bar and the public in condemning this assault on justice."