No More Basement: Govt Orders Suspects Held in Gazetted Facilities

What the report says

Uganda’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has ordered security agencies to hold all suspects in gazetted remand or detention facilities, according to a ministerial statement presented by Internal Affairs Minister Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu to Parliament. The directive comes amid renewed parliamentary concern over alleged abductions and illegal detention, with lawmakers pressing the government to account for people believed to be held in undisclosed locations.

Kamuntu said the instruction was issued under guidance from the National Security Council and would be enforced for suspects arrested by security agencies. In the same statement, he briefed Parliament on the country’s security situation and said the report did not cover sovereignty, territorial integrity or political activism. He also outlined crime data showing 3,192 homicide cases recorded between January and September 2026, with many cases still under inquiry or in court.

The minister cited several districts, including Kazo, Kyotera, Ibanda, Kyegegwa, Kyankwanzi, Mubende, Sheema, Mitooma, Ntungamo and Masaka, where investigations had linked crimes to land disputes, domestic conflicts, poverty, mob justice and witchcraft. He said the government was responding through community policing, better investigations and more deployment in hotspots.

Vice President Jessica Alupo said the crimes had unsettled communities and warned security agencies and the Judiciary not to be compromised. Opposition Leader Joel Ssenyonyi welcomed the directive on lawful detention sites but said the government still needed to explain those allegedly abducted and held outside official facilities.