Alupo promises release of detained MP Maggie Etilu amid rising concerns over ‘enforced disappearances’

Amuria District Woman Member of Parliament, Ms Margaret Etilu

The Vice President, Maj (Rtd) Jessica Alupo, has assured Parliament that the detained Amuria District Woman Member of Parliament, Ms Margaret “Maggie” Etilu, will be released by the close of this week to resume her legislative duties.

Ms Alupo made the revelation during a heated plenary sitting on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, chaired by Speaker Jacob Oboth-Oboth. The government's intervention followed intense pressure from the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, who demanded a formal explanation regarding the whereabouts of the newly sworn-in legislator and other citizens who have gone missing under unclear circumstances.“Where is the Member?” Mr. Ssenyonyi demanded. “If she has committed any offense… why is she not produced in court? Where is she being held?”

The LoP also pressed the government over the fate of Christopher Godi (alias King Zale), a National Unity Platform (NUP) mobiliser who was reportedly picked up by the military from Kamwokya on April 21, 2026, and remains missing.Responding to the opposition's concerns, Ms Alupo, who referred to Ms Etilu as her "daughter," confirmed that the legislator is safe, healthy, and in the custody of law enforcement. She revealed that discrete diplomatic efforts had been underway to resolve the matter behind closed doors.

“She has met some of her family members. She is safe. She is healthy and will be joining us soon,” Ms Alupo informed the House. “We have been speaking to the law enforcement officers, police on phone. Some of them we have met them physically. We did not want to involve cameras. From the messages that we have received... the assurance is that she will be joining us anytime this week.”

Ms Alupo acknowledged that the situation was of grave concern to all lawmakers, irrespective of political affiliation, noting that Ms Etilu’s detention "affects all of us as members of Parliament, as leaders, as Ugandans." She suggested that the Attorney General would clarify the legal procedures surrounding the detention at an appropriate time.

A dark legal vacuumMs Etilu, a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), has not been seen publicly since May 23, 2026. She reportedly vanished shortly after leaving the Kampala residence of the former Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Annet Among. Her disappearance came amid widening security investigations involving Ms. Among's political associates.Her continuous detention without trial has raised serious constitutional questions. Article 23 of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda