The family of missing musician Christopher Gody, alias King Zale, has renewed calls for his release or production in court after identifying what they believe is the musician in video footage released by former intelligence officer Lt Herbert Matanda Mabonga.
The family says it recognised Zale towards the end of one of the clips, which Mabonga claimed were recorded inside a military safe house in Abayita Ababiri, Entebbe.
It is now 171 days since armed men allegedly abducted Zale on April 21, 2026, near the Firebase Crew offices in Kamwokya, Kampala. His family and friends suspect that some of those involved were security operatives.
According to his wife, Lilian Nakiwala, some of the men wore Special Forces Command (SFC) and Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) uniforms, while others were dressed in civilian clothes.
Nakiwala says the family has received no information about Zale’s whereabouts or the charges, if any, against him, despite searching for him at various detention facilities.
She says the family began closely examining footage released by Mabonga, a junior officer who identifies himself as a former Defence Intelligence operative.
Mabonga recently said he could no longer serve in an army he accused of involvement in arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, kidnappings and torture of civilians. Alongside his statement, he released video clips that appeared to show opposition figures Sam Mugumya and Muwanga Kivumbi in detention.
One of the clips appears to show Mugumya, a former aide to opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye, struggling to walk around a compound in what appears to be a rehabilitation exercise. He is wearing a yellow campaign T-shirt bearing President Yoweri Museveni’s image.
Nakiwala says she watched the footage several times before recognising her husband towards the end of one of the videos.
“Someone captured and shared a picture from those videos with us. At first, we thought it was not him, but when I watched that video several times, I was able to see him at the end, and even his feet are visibly identifiable to anyone who has known him,” she said.
The family had earlier petitioned the High Court, seeking an order compelling the authorities to produce Zale in court through a habeas corpus application.
However, the court dismissed the application after all the respondents, including the Attorney General, SFC, UPDF, Uganda Police Force and Internal Security Organisation (ISO), denied having him in their custody.
Nakiwala says the family cannot understand why Zale remains missing, amid fears that he could be in detention without being brought before court.
His disappearance has also left his mother, Joyce Aduba, distressed. Nakiwala says Zale was the family’s sole breadwinner and paid his mother’s medical bills.
“We’re going through pain; his mother is down, and I’m struggling to sustain the family. Sometimes I visit other political prisoners in Luzira and wish that my husband was also in a known prison like others. Yes, their families are going through a lot, but at least they know where their loved ones are, not like us,” Nakiwala said.
The family fears Zale could suffer the same fate as John Bosco Kibalama, a National Unity Platform (NUP) supporter who disappeared in 2019 and whose whereabouts remain unknown.
In 2023, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja told parliament that authorities had traced Kibalama to a detention facility, but later withdrew the statement.
The UPDF has since said Kibalama is alive and living outside Uganda, but has not publicly provided evidence or disclosed his location. The army has also described Mabonga as a deserter and distanced itself from the footage he released.
Police have consistently advised families of missing persons to report cases to the nearest police station to facilitate investigations.
By the time of publication, security agencies had not publicly confirmed Zale’s whereabouts. Their position before court was that he was not in their custody.