By Karim Were
The High Court in Kampala has directed Uganda’s top security agencies to produce missing Education Ministry technical adviser Duncan Keith Ayebare, intensifying scrutiny over alleged enforced disappearances and illegal detentions by state operatives.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, Justice Joyce Kavuma issued a writ of habeas corpus ordering the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security (CDIS), Inspector General of Police, and the Attorney General to present Ayebare before court on June 2.
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Ayebare has reportedly been missing since February 13, 2026, after he was allegedly abducted by armed plain-clothed men while attending a meeting at Gayaza Junior School.
The ruling followed an application filed by Ayebare’s father, Rev. Robert Kayongwe Basherura, who accused security operatives of holding his son incommunicado for more than three months without trial or access to lawyers and family members.
Justice Kavuma criticised the security agencies for failing to provide a satisfactory account of Ayebare’s whereabouts, noting that key agencies accused in the application did not directly deny holding him.
“Where allegations of unlawful detention are made and remain uncontroverted, the court is entitled to infer that the detention complained of exists,” the judge ruled.
Court documents indicated that Ayebare briefly resurfaced at his home a day after his disappearance under heavy military guard before he was allegedly taken away again.
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A caretaker at his residence, William Wandera, told court that Ayebare arrived accompanied by armed men dressed in UPDF uniforms alongside plain-clothed operatives travelling in a numberless drone vehicle.
According to the affidavit, Ayebare asked him to care for his dogs and promised to return.
Police denied detaining Ayebare, arguing through Detective Corporal Obed Nankunda that searches in police custody records found no trace of him.
State attorneys also challenged the application, arguing that the alleged abductors had not been clearly identified as state officers and that the case was filed nearly 90 days after Ayebare’s disappearance.
However, Ayebare’s lawyers maintained that the matter raised grave constitutional concerns involving unlawful detention and possible abuse of state power.
In her ruling, Justice Kavuma stressed that prolonged detention without charge violates constitutional protections on personal liberty and fair hearing under Articles 23 and 28 of the Constitution.
The court concluded that sufficient grounds existed to compel the security agencies to produce Ayebare before the High Court Civil Division next week.
No order on costs was made.
