BUTAMBALA, Uganda — Former Butambala County Member of Parliament and National Unity Platform (NUP) Deputy President for Buganda, Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, together with 23 co-accused persons, has been remanded until July 16, 2026, after court proceedings were halted due to the absence of a police case file.
The decision was made by Butambala Grade One Magistrate Deogratious Sejjemba during a court session that had been scheduled to review progress in a terrorism case involving Kivumbi and his co-accused.
The hearing failed to proceed after the prosecution informed the court that the police file relating to the matter could not be traced.
State Attorney Arthur Masaaba requested an adjournment, explaining that authorities needed more time to locate the missing file before the case could continue.
“The police file in this matter is not here in court. It is my humble prayer for an adjournment so that we can follow up the file and proceed with the case,” Masaaba told the court.
The request was met with strong opposition from the defence team led by lawyer Samuel Muyizi, who accused the State of mishandling the case and lacking transparency.
Muyizi argued that the prosecution had failed to demonstrate the existence of a genuine case file and questioned whether any statements had ever been recorded from the accused persons.
“Your Honour, the State is not being truthful in this matter. The reality is that they do not have a case file. All the accused persons know very well that there are no files relating to these charges. Not a single police statement was ever recorded from them,” Muyizi submitted.
The defence lawyer further accused the prosecution of using repeated adjournments to prolong the detention of the accused without sufficient evidence.
According to Muyizi, the continued delays have adversely affected many of the accused persons, some of whom are students expected to resume their studies while remaining on remand.
“The State is using court proceedings to prolong remand and continue detaining innocent people. One time the file is available and the prosecutor is absent; another time the prosecutor is present and the file is missing. Many of the accused are students whose universities are reopening, yet the State has failed to produce the file,” he argued.
When asked by Magistrate Sejjemba to explain the whereabouts of the missing file, Masaaba said it was his first appearance on the matter and that he could not account for the file’s absence, noting that the case had previously been handled by a different prosecutor.
Following submissions from both parties, the magistrate directed the prosecution and defence to agree on a new hearing date and urged them to follow up on efforts to trace the missing case file.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to July 16, 2026, when Kivumbi and the 23 co-accused persons are expected to return to court.
Muwanga Kivumbi and his co-accused are facing terrorism-related charges reportedly linked to activities during the 2026 general election period. The case continues to attract public interest amid concerns over prolonged remand and delays in the judicial process.
