Uganda opposition aide appears in video after nearly a year

A video circulating on social media appears to show Sam Mugumya, a former aide to Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye, months after he vanished, with his family and activists alleging state involvement.

Mugumya, 47, was running as a candidate for Besigye's party when local media reported in August 2025 that he had been taken by men linked to the security forces. Nothing was heard from him until late July, when a video showed an emaciated man seated next to a walker.

His mother, Edinansi Katungwesi, told AFP by telephone that the man in the video was her son. “Since he was kidnapped months ago, I don't know anything about him or what is happening to him,” she said. She accused the government of taking him.

AFP said it could not verify who recorded the video, when it was shot or where it was filmed. The army declined to comment when contacted. A source directed AFP to earlier defence ministry remarks from September 2025 denying that Mugumya was in custody.

Activist Agather Atuhaire told AFP she believed the man in the video was Mugumya and accused the military of being responsible for his disappearance and incommunicado detention.

The Uganda Law Society has filed a petition for Mugumya's release. Society vice-president Anthony Asiimwe said that if Mugumya is suspected of an offence, he should be produced in court to answer charges.

The video surfaced as international observers have expressed concern about a growing crackdown on opposition figures and activists in Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni was re-elected for a seventh term in January, and activists and opposition politicians have warned of an increasingly hostile environment.