Concern is mounting over the whereabouts of veteran politician and human rights activist Miria Matembe after she reportedly disappeared following a security raid on her lakeside residence in Luzira, Kampala, earlier this week.
Her husband, Nehemiah Matembe, said on Friday night that the family had not heard from the former Ethics and Integrity minister since the operation.
“She has not returned since then,” he said.
“We don’t know where she is. Ever since the raid, we have not heard from her. We appeal to whomever has Matembe to release her to return home.”
Family friend and TV personality Junior Dave Kazoora said Matembe had left home for her usual jog on the day of the raid and never returned.
“So we don’t know what happened to her,” Kazoora said, urging relatives and friends to intensify efforts to trace her whereabouts.
The development comes two days after security operatives raided Matembe’s residence in Luzira.
According to her family, the team, comprising both uniformed soldiers and plain-clothed personnel, searched the house without identifying themselves or explaining the purpose of the operation.
Witnesses said two women and one man in civilian attire entered the compound while two armed soldiers remained outside.
The group reportedly arrived in a Toyota vehicle commonly referred to locally as a “drone.”
Nehemiah Matembe said the operatives searched every room in the house, including the couple’s bedroom and bathroom, but left without taking anything or issuing any explanation.
“They found me in the sitting room. I asked who they were and what they wanted, but they ignored me, searched the bedroom and bathroom, then returned. I continued asking questions, but they never responded,” he said earlier.
The family believes the operatives may have intended to arrest or abduct Matembe, who had left the residence shortly before they arrived.
The incident has sparked concern among opposition figures and civil society activists.
Barbie Kyagulanyi, wife of opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, condemned the raid and expressed solidarity with Matembe and human rights lawyer Sarah Bireete, whose home was also reportedly searched this week.
“My heart goes out to Maama Dr. Miria Matembe who is being hunted down and our sister Sarah Bireete who just got raided,” Kyagulanyi said.
“They have built a throne for fear to reign among us and when they raid our homes and strip our dignity bare, they think they will undress our courage. We condemn every act of cruelty being unleashed on Uganda’s daughters, women and mothers.”
She added: “To the sisters who have been beaten, raped, raided, left alone to fend for families while the breadwinners are abducted, kept in unknown detention and silenced, be of courage. Injustice doesn’t reign forever. History will remember your wounds.”
Concern
Matembe, a former minister, women’s rights advocate and co-founder of the Centre for Domestic Violence Prevention, has in recent years become one of the government’s most outspoken critics.
One of the framers of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution, she broke ranks with the ruling National Resistance Movement in 2003 after opposing the removal of presidential term limits.
In recent months, she has sharply criticised security accusing him of undermining state institutions and condemning alleged human rights abuses and enforced disappearances.
Her disappearance comes amid heightened concerns by rights groups and opposition politicians over reports of abductions and raids targeting government critics ahead of the 2026 general elections.
By Saturday night, there had been no official statement from security agencies regarding Matembe’s whereabouts or the purpose of the operation at her residence
