MP Kivumbi further remanded in prison, lawyers to seek remedies

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Outgoing Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi and 24 others have been further remanded to Kitalya Prison in Wakiso district until March 10, 2026.

Kivumbi and his co-accused were produced before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Butambala district on Tuesday, February 17, over charges of terrorism relating to violence and seven deaths.

The seven deaths occurred in Butambala when the country went to the polls to elect the President and Members of Parliament on January 15, 2026.

Court further remanded them to allow the prosecution to continue its investigations.

Kivumbi, who is also the National Unity Platform deputy president for the central region, lost his parliamentary seat in the general election to independent candidate Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi.

One of their lawyers, Medard Sseggona, the outgoing Busiro East MP, told the media after the ruling that they would seek other remedies for Kivumbi’s rights that were allegedly violated by the Police.

“He (Kivumbi) has never recorded a statement because he declined to answer to the dictates of the Police. They (the police) wanted a particular line of statement, which he declined, especially when he mentioned the murders that took place at his house on that fateful night,” he said.

Sseggona said they complained to the court that the Police were carrying out lopsided investigations and needed to be compelled to assign impartial and objective officers to conduct professional inquiries.

“The magistrate [Deogratious Ssejjemba] has ruled in his wisdom that he is not in a position to supervise that; it is the work of the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions), and if the DPP has not done that, he has no way out. We opine that there is a way out and we shall compel the DPP to do the job,” he said.

He demanded Kivumbi’s release, arguing that his constitutional rights had been violated.

“Among other things, he was never informed of the offence he committed, no access to his lawyer, no access to his next of kin, etc., at the time of bringing him to court. The magistrate thinks that it should be a formal application, which is not a difficult job anyway. So, he declined on those accounts,” Sseggona reported.

“We insisted that we need to know the stage of investigations and to compel the state to act expeditiously as required under Article 28 of the Constitution. So, we await that when we come back on March 10. We will also come to court before that date and seek other remedies.”