NUP SG Rubongoya opens up on Lumbuye

Rubongoya, David Lewis
The case of comrade Fred Lumbuye Kajjubi, a well-known political activist, has raised various questions and worries. In this piece, I’d like to clarify the efforts that have been undertaken thus far.
It’s crucial to remember the following:

1. We were greatly concerned when we learned about comrade Lumbuye’s detention or kidnapping. We attempted to contact our diaspora leadership team in Turkey, but they did not have much knowledge about the situation.

2. We reached out to several of Lumbuye’s close pals to see what information they had on the situation. They connected the team with a Turkish lawyer named Mustafa Demir, who they claimed was in charge of the case.
3. That lawyer refused to allow Hon. Zaake (who was on his way to Turkey) or anybody else to see him in person, despite speaking with them on the phone. He demanded 71,000 dollars in legal fees. We all thought it was a lot of money, and several people tried unsuccessfully to haggle the price down.

4. While we engaged in other processes, our diaspora leadership team set out to fundraise for the legal bills. Many Ugandans living abroad reacted to the request by donating money to the various diaspora branches (countries).
5. At one point, Mr. Okello Oryem, Gen. Museveni’s foreign affairs minister, stated that Lumbuye was being transferred to Uganda and would arrive on Saturday morning. Several team members, including Hon. Muwadda, stayed up all night at the airport and did not see Lumbuye brought in that day. We had put the legal teams on high alert to take over the case as soon as he arrived, but that didn’t happen. We contacted the Turkish embassy in Uganda, but they refused to provide us with any information. Attempts to obtain information from Ugandan officials have likewise proven fruitless so far.
6. Efforts were made in Turkey to engage the lawyer there, but he was reticent to see any of our staff for reasons best known to him. At that time, we decided to dispatch a portion of our legal team to Turkey to figure out what was going on. We reasoned that, even if the needed funds were gathered, it would be wrong to just pass it over to someone who no one had been authorized to meet personally. Second, we wanted at least one of our lawyers to go to Lumbuye’s detention facility to get a better grasp of the situation.
7. As a result, Comrade Wameli Anthony and Comrade Muwadda Nkunyinji traveled to Turkey from Uganda. They sought to meet with the lawyer when they arrived, but he declined. Hon. Muwadda paid a visit to the law office where the lawyer is ostensibly the managing partner, but he only spoke with his juniors. They returned to the lawyer’s chambers the next day and waited all day for him to see them, but he did not appear. It’s worth noting that all of the previous remarks made by various leaders about this matter were based on guarantees given by the lawyer, who was presented to the team by Lumbuye’s well-known acquaintances.

Wameli and Muwadda decided to hire another lawyer in Turkey (Adnan Sahin) at that moment because they wanted to know where Lumbuye was being held and what kind of help he needed. The new lawyer has been extremely cooperative and helpful over the last two days. They have called several Turkish officials and visited detention centers in search of information. Despite receiving some clues, they have not been able to pinpoint Lumbuye’s exact whereabouts.

9. Our diaspora leadership team has assured us that all funds raised for this case to date are still intact and in the hands of the respective diaspora chapters. 10. In Uganda, a member of the legal team filed a habeas corpus petition yesterday, requesting that the regime bring Lumbuye before a competent court if he is detained. The minister claimed to possess Lumbuye and that he was being repatriated to Uganda, according to the premise of this application. There is also unsubstantiated information that he was brought into the nation undercover. We also spotted a fictitious travel document being disseminated on the internet, but we couldn’t verify its legitimacy.

11. Finally, it’s difficult to say with certainty where Fred Lumbuye is right now. He could still be in Turkey, but he could have been smuggled into Uganda by the mafia. That is why we have taken a multi-pronged approach.

We will provide new information as soon as it becomes available.

We continue to thank all Ugandans, both at home and abroad, for their concern in this issue, and we continue to ask for action to ensure that comrade Lumbuye is released.