The High Court has ordered the government to submit a comprehensive report explaining the whereabouts of missing political activist Sam Mugumya, who has now been missing for one year and 96 days.

High Court Judge Simon Peter Kinobe issued the directive after expressing concern over the government’s continued failure to account for Mugumya.

The order follows an application filed by Mugumya’s lawyers seeking to compel the government to produce him before court, dead or alive.

When the matter came up on October 26, Justice Kinobe directed the government to provide a detailed report on Mugumya’s whereabouts, including video footage showing him at the location where he is alleged to have been tortured.

However, when the case returned to court today, government lawyer Matthew Muhesi and Lt. Col. Edgar Musasizi, who represents Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, informed the court that they had failed to prepare the required report.

In response, Justice Kinobe directed all security agencies, including the Special Forces Command (SFC), Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), to jointly compile the report and submit it to court by Monday, November 30.

Mugumya’s lawyer, Kato Tumusiime, said the government had been given sufficient time to account for his client but accused it of potentially employing delaying tactics to evade responsibility.

Tumusiime argued that the continued delays undermine the purpose of the application, which is to establish whether Mugumya is alive or dead and compel the government to produce him before court.

The court’s latest directive places renewed responsibility on the security agencies to provide an account of the activist’s disappearance as judicial proceedings continue.

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