By Karim Were
Masaka City Woman MP Justine Namere is reportedly missing after alleged armed men traveling in the notorious “drone” vehicle reportedly seized her on Friday evening shortly after she held a procession celebrating her swearing-in to Uganda’s 12th Parliament.
The dramatic incident has sparked widespread speculation online, especially because it comes amid escalating political tensions within Parliament following Namere’s public clash with Kasambya legislator Daudi Kabanda over the Speaker race. During the heated exchange, Namere accused Kabanda and his Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) camp of dishonesty after the group reportedly withdrew support for Bukedea Woman MP Anita Among and Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa.
Her reported abduction also comes at a politically sensitive moment for Anita Among, who has been facing mounting pressure from sections within the ruling establishment to abandon plans of contesting for Speaker and instead support West Budama Central MP Jacob Oboth Oboth.
Security agencies had not yet issued an official statement by Friday night, leaving uncertainty over whether Namere’s disappearance is politically linked or connected to other circumstances surrounding the tense parliamentary transition.
Namere’s rise to Parliament had already divided opinion in Masaka. She secured the seat after a controversial court-ordered vote recount overturned the Electoral Commission’s initial declaration of NUP candidate Rose Nalubowa as winner — a decision many opposition supporters in the city continue to question.
Witnesses and online reports claim the MP was taken by armed men traveling in an unmarked “drone,” a term commonly used in Uganda to describe covert security vans often linked to controversial arrests and disappearances.
