The whereabouts of Amuria District Woman MP Maggie Etilu remain unknown several days after she was reportedly picked up by security operatives in Kampala after visiting embattled former speaker Annet Anita Among.
The unexplained disappearance of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) legislator has sparked concern among fellow MPs, family members and constituents in Amuria District, many of whom have taken to social media to demand answers about her fate and immediate release.
According to information obtained by our reporter, Etilu was allegedly picked up on May 23 while leaving one of the Kampala residences of embattled Among.
A legislator from the Teso sub-region, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Etilu had visited Among following reports of security operations at the former speaker’s residences.
The MP said efforts by colleagues to establish Etilu’s whereabouts have so far yielded no results, despite engagements with various authorities, including parliamentary leadership.
“We have tried engaging different authorities, including interfacing with the Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth, to help establish her whereabouts, but nothing concrete has come out of it,” the MP added.
“What I know is that Maggie has occasionally been staying at the former speaker’s residence. She has been close to her, and perhaps that is why she was picked,” said another legislator.
The disappearance has also caused anxiety within Etilu’s family. Speaking to our reporter, her mother, Margaret Etilu, said she had only recently learned about her daughter’s situation after relatives withheld the information because of concerns about her health.
“I only got to know my daughter was missing today. Everyone has been fearing to tell me about Maggie because of my health condition,” she said in a phone interview.
“I trust that my God, the God that we serve, will protect her from wherever she is being held. My daughter…” she added before abruptly ending the call.
Efforts to obtain a comment from police were unsuccessful. Calls made to police spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma’s known telephone numbers went unanswered. Etilu, a member of the ruling NRM, was elected to Parliament following the retirement of former Amuria District Woman MP Susan Amero.
Her absence has recently been noticeable during key parliamentary and party activities. She did not attend the NRM parliamentary caucus meeting held on Sunday, where members endorsed candidates for the positions of speaker and deputy speaker.
She also missed the first sitting of the 12th Parliament, the election of parliamentary leadership and subsequent orientation sessions for newly elected legislators. Her reported disappearance comes amid heightened political tensions and growing scrutiny surrounding investigations involving former Among and some of her close associates.
Uganda has in recent years witnessed several similar incidents involving politicians, activists and religious leaders who were allegedly picked up by security operatives and held incommunicado before authorities later acknowledged their detention.
Among the recent cases is that of Justine Nameere, the state minister for Local Government-designate, who was reportedly picked up shortly after being sworn in as Masaka City Woman MP earlier this month.
In December 2025, Rev. Fr. Deusdedit Ssekabira of Masaka Diocese also disappeared after allegedly being taken by armed operatives. The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) later confirmed that he was being held in military custody over alleged “subversive activities.”
Similar incidents have previously been reported during periods of heightened political activity, with individuals allegedly taken by unidentified operatives and later confirmed to be in state custody days after their disappearance.
“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist. Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me.” (Pastor Martin Niemöller).
In other words, 45 years and counting under our 86-years-old PROBLEM OF AFRICA, Gen Tibuhaburwa and his PRACTICING PROBLEM OF UGANDA son, Gen MK; sooner than later there will be no one left to speak out about abductions and/or forced disappearances.