KAMPALA — Lawyers representing National Unity Platform (NUP) Vice President for Buganda Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi have petitioned the High Court seeking a writ of habeas corpus, asking the court to compel security agencies to produce him and explain the legal basis of his continued detention.
The application, filed in the Civil Division of the High Court, names the Chief of Defence Forces, the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General as respondents.
The court filing comes days after Kivumbi was rearrested barely 24 hours after being released on bail by the International Crimes Division of the High Court, where he is facing terrorism-related charges alongside several co-accused.
According to the application, Kivumbi was granted bail on July 9 before travelling to his ancestral home in Butambala District, where he spent the night.
The application by lawyers from Lukwago and Company Advocates, Alaka and Company Advocates and Mukiibi and Kyeyune Advocates, was filed through the digital legal platform on Tuesday evening.
His lawyers state that on July 10, while travelling back to Kampala, he was intercepted at a police checkpoint near Mpigi Police Station by UPDF officers and plain-clothed military personnel, who arrested him and took him to an undisclosed location.
The application argues that Kivumbi is a civilian and that his alleged arrest and continued detention by the military are unconstitutional.
It further states that his whereabouts remain unknown, and that he has been denied access to his family, lawyers and personal physician.
The lawyers contend that he has now been detained beyond the constitutional 48-hour limit without being charged before a competent court.
In the application, they ask the High Court to issue a writ of habeas corpus directing the respondents to produce Kivumbi before court and order his immediate release if no lawful grounds exist for his detention.
The petition also seeks a declaration that his alleged incommunicado detention violates his constitutional rights and asks the respondents to bear the costs of the application.
The filing follows growing concern over Kivumbi's disappearance after his reported rearrest.
On Tuesday, Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi raised the matter on the floor of Parliament, demanding that the government account for Kivumbi's whereabouts after his family, lawyers and political colleagues said they had been unable to trace him for several days.
Second Deputy Prime Minister Dr Crispus Kiyonga told Parliament that the government would present a formal statement on the matter.
Before filing the application, Kivumbi's lawyer, Samuel Muyizzi, had said the defence team had searched several police facilities, including Police headquarters in Naguru, without success. He also said they had received unverified reports suggesting Kivumbi had been taken to Mbuya, although security agencies had neither confirmed his arrest nor disclosed where he was being held.
Kivumbi, a former Butambala County MP and NUP vice president for Buganda, has consistently denied the terrorism charges against him, describing them as politically motivated.
The government and the security agencies had not publicly responded to the habeas corpus application by the time of publication.
