Last week, Uganda’s courts found themselves at the centre of cases that touched on some of the country’s most pressing legal questions, from alleged enforced disappearances and the right to legal representation to labour disputes and contested land rights.
At the High court, judges demanded answers about the whereabouts of former Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi after his reported abduction earlier this month.
In a separate matter, another High court judge was assigned to determine whether Dr Kizza Besigye and Hajji Obeid Lutale have been denied their constitutional right to choose their own lawyers.
Elsewhere, former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago appealed to the court over his deteriorating health while prosecutors fought his bid for bail, the Industrial Court upheld the dismissal of a university lecturer accused of holding two full-time academic positions simultaneously, and a long-running Wakiso land dispute was dismissed on procedural grounds.Â
High court orders probe into Muwanga KivumbiÂ
The case that attracted the greatest public attention was the High court’s decision to direct security agencies to conclude investigations into the whereabouts of former Butambala County MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi before it rules on his application for a writ of habeas corpus.Â
Kivumbi was reportedly abducted on the 10th of this month at a police checkpoint in Mpigi shortly after securing bail. Since then, his whereabouts have remained unknown.
Police, however, insist they are not holding him. In an affidavit filed before court, Assistant Commissioner of Police Godwin Tumugumye said the police neither arrested nor detained Kivumbi, although his vehicle had been stopped at a checkpoint. Tumugumye added that inquiries across police units had found no record of Kivumbi being in custody.Â
Industrial court upholds lecturer’s dismissalÂ
In a significant labour ruling, the Industrial court upheld the dismissal of former Cavendish University Uganda senior lecturer Dr Fredrick Kiwuwa Lugya, finding that the university acted lawfully when it terminated his employment after discovering he held two full-time academic positions.
The court dismissed Lugya’s challenge to his November 2017 dismissal, in which he argued that Cavendish had denied him a fair hearing and relied on an unreasonable contractual restriction preventing outside full-time employment.
Cavendish maintained that Lugya breached his employment contract by remaining a full-time employee at Makerere University Kampala while serving at Cavendish. The university further alleged that he concealed his continued employment at Makerere by submitting a curriculum vitae indicating he had left the institution in 2012.
Lugya denied wrongdoing. He argued that Cavendish knew about his association with Makerere and contended that the contractual clause amounted to an unfair restraint on his professional freedom. He also sought payment for additional work he claimed to have performed on an e-learning project.
A panel led by Justice Anthony Wabwire Musana found that the disciplinary committee had been properly constituted despite vacancies in some senior positions.
The court concluded that the dispute was not principally about restraint of trade but about an employee’s duty of loyalty while still under contract. It held that an employee could not unilaterally determine whether holding another full-time position affected the employer’s interests.
The judges also rejected Lugya’s claim of discrimination, finding that he had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the allegation.
Besigye, Lutale legal representation dispute
The High court also took another step in the treason case involving Dr Kizza Besigye and Hajji Obeid Lutale, assigning Justice Simon Peter Kinobe of the Civil Division to determine an application concerning their right to legal representation of their choice.Â
Justice Kinobe directed that the matter proceed through written submissions rather than oral arguments. He ordered both sides to exchange affidavits and written submissions before delivering his ruling on August 13, 2026.
Besigye and Lutale argue that their constitutional right to choose their lawyers has been undermined following the arrest and prosecution of former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, who had been part of their defence team, and the deportation of Kenyan Senior Counsel Martha Karua, whom they had appointed to lead their defence.
Prosecutors oppose bail for LukwagoÂ
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions opposed bail for former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, even as he personally appealed to the High court over what he described as worsening health conditions in detention.Â
Addressing the judge, Lukwago said doctors at Murchison Bay Prison had advised him to keep his face mask on at all times because of the risk of tuberculosis infection.
He told the court that wearing the mask continuously had become difficult because of his “lung challenges” and breathlessness. He also said he could not be transferred to other prison wards because they were poorly ventilated and “fully congested.”
In response, chief state attorney Kyomuhendo Joseph filed an affidavit arguing that Lukwago’s sureties “are not substantial,” describing him as a flight risk.
The prosecution further argued that his position as a senior leader of the People’s Front for Freedom political party gave him the influence to interfere with witnesses and urged the court to dismiss the bail application “in the interest of justice.”Â
High court dismisses Mawejje’s challengeÂ
Meanwhile, the High Court struck out a judicial review application filed by businessman Mike Mawejje challenging directives issued by former State Minister for Lands Dr Sam Mayanja over disputed land in Wakiso District.
Justice Simon Peter Kinobe ruled that the application had been filed outside the three-month statutory time limit for judicial review proceedings, preventing the court from considering the substance of the claims.
Mawejje had sought to overturn directives issued after more than 300 bibanja holders complained of alleged unlawful evictions from land in Mpegwe, Kakiri. Among Dr Mayanja’s directives were orders halting further transactions on the land, investigations into alleged fraud surrounding its acquisition and police action against Mawejje.
He also sought declarations that the minister had acted unlawfully, violated the principles of a fair hearing, and asked for compensation together with a permanent injunction blocking enforcement of the directives.
The dispute centres on several hundred acres of land that passed through different registered owners before Mawejje and another proprietor acquired it in 2004. It was brought before the minister in October 2022 after occupants petitioned over alleged forced evictions.
Justice Kinobe found that the cause of action arose on October 18, 2022, meaning the application should have been filed by January 18, 2023. Instead, it was lodged on February 27, 2023, outside the period allowed by law.
The judge also ruled that Jackson Kikonyogo had been improperly joined to the proceedings because he had not been shown to be a public officer and ordered that he be removed from the case.