Uganda: lawyer Abed Nasser Mudyobole forcibly disappeared
2 June 2025
The OIAD expresses its deep concern about the enforced disappearance of Ugandan lawyer Abed Nasser Mudyobole on 17 May 2025. Since his abduction, the authorities and the police have provided no information about his whereabouts.
According to the Uganda Law Society, Mr Mudyobole was abducted by alleged agents of the Special Investigations Unit while he was at a hotel in Kyaliwajala (Wakiso district) to meet a client. Since then, his family and colleagues have had no news of him. All attempts to contact the security forces have been unsuccessful.
This disappearance occurs in a worrying context of increasing systemic repression in Uganda, with a growing number of cases of enforced disappearances targeting lawyers, human rights defenders and political opponents. These disappearances are often accompanied by acts of torture[1], incommunicado detention and even extrajudicial executions.
Mr Mudyobole is known for his political activism in support of the opposition, affiliated with the National Unity Platform (NUP). He has previously stood as a candidate in parliamentary elections and plans to run again in 2026.
The Observatory recalls that enforced disappearances are strictly prohibited under international law, including the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and represent a serious violation of human rights, access to justice and the independence of the legal profession.
The Observatory strongly condemns the enforced disappearance of Mr Abed Nasser Mudyobole.
The Observatory demands that the Ugandan authorities immediately make public all information concerning his place of detention.
The Observatory seeks the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Abed Nasser Mudyobole, or failing that, his presentation before an independent judicial authority.
The Observatory urges the Ugandan authorities to put an end to the use of enforced disappearances, to investigate these violations independently, and to guarantee the safety of lawyers in Uganda, in accordance with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
[1] International Observatory for Endangered Lawyers, Alert: Eron Kiiza (Uganda), 24 March 2025, < https://protect-lawyers.org/en/case/eron-kiiza/>
