A legal storm is brewing over the mysterious disappearance of Kampala-based lawyer Abed-Nasser Mudiobole, as the Uganda Law Society (ULS) and his wife, Advocate Berna Mutamba, petition the High Court for his immediate release through a writ of habeas corpus.
Filed under Miscellaneous Cause No. 0/aRoF 2025 in the Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala, the case names the Attorney General as respondent and raises alarm over what the applicants describe as an abduction followed by incommunicado detention.
ULS and Ms Mutamba are jointly seeking court intervention to compel the state to either produce Nasser or justify his continued detention.
In her affidavit, Ms Mutamba, who is not only Nasser’s wife but also a practicing advocate, recounts the events of May 16, 2025.
She states that at about 5pm, she received a phone call from Nasser asking her to meet him at Gold Rock Hotel in Kyaliwajjala.
But before she could arrive, she received another call that changed everything.
The caller, identifying herself only as “Patricia,” informed Ms Mutamba that Mudiobole had been “arrested or abducted” from the hotel.
According to Ms Mutamba, 'Patricia' said the information had come from a third party — an anonymous man claiming to be a potential client of Nasser’s, supposedly seeking legal help in a land dispute.
Patricia added that Mudiobole’s vehicle, a Subaru Outback with registration number UBK 342G, had also been taken.
Ms Mutamba says she has since been unable to reach her husband or confirm his whereabouts.
The absence of formal charges, police notification, or access to legal representation has intensified fears that Nasser may be held illegally by state operatives.
The ULS, acting both out of professional duty and concern for its member, is pressing for a writ of 'habeas corpus ad subjiciendum', which compels authorities to produce the detained individual in court and explain the legal grounds for holding them.
The petition seeks urgent relief given the nature of the alleged disappearance and the threat it poses to constitutional safeguards.
The Attorney General had not responded by press time. However, legal commentators say this case could mark a critical test for judicial oversight in cases of suspected enforced disappearances — particularly when involving officers of the court.
“We are dealing with a matter that touches the heart of due process and the right to liberty,” said one senior advocate, who preferred anonymity.
“The state must either account for this man or release him immediately.”
The High Court is expected to schedule a hearing in the coming days.
On May 17, the National Unity Platform said Mudiobole, who hails from Iganga, is the latest victim of the ongoing "spate of abductions".
"He was picked up from Kyaliwajjala yesterday by heavily armed men and taken away to an unknown location. Very troubling times," said NUP secretary general David Lewis Rubongoya.
Several NUP supporters and party hangers-on have recently gone missing with the Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba last month causing a stir by admitting he had Edward Ssebuufu, aka Eddie Mutwe in his basement.
Mutwe was later taken to court in Masaka in distress with glaring signs of severe torture.
Meanwhile, growing anxiety surrounds Mudiobole’s fate, with civil society organisations, human rights advocates, and fellow lawyers calling for transparency and condemning what they describe as a worrying trend of disappearances.
As the legal community rallies behind the petitioners, the unfolding case has put a spotlight on the fragility of personal security and the need for vigilance in protecting the rule of law.