Political prisoner, Waiswa Mufumbiro, appeals for temporary release to bury wife
The request now places the spotlight on the court’s discretion to grant temporary release on compassionate grounds as the judiciary balances legal procedure with humanitarian considerations.
A remand prisoner at Luzira, Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro, the deputy Spokesperson for National Unity Platform (NUP) has written to the Supreme Court of Uganda seeking temporary release to attend the burial of his wife, Edith Mufumbiro, who succumbed to cancer Wednesday morning in Kampala.
In a letter dated April 8, 2026, addressed to the Chief Justice and routed through the Officer in Charge of Upper Prison Luzira, Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro, an accused person in two ongoing criminal cases, appealed for bail on humanitarian grounds.
Mufumbiro, who has been on remand since September 8, 2025, is facing charges of unlawful drilling under Criminal Case No. 1363 of 2025 before the Kawempe Chief Magistrate’s Court, presided over by Her Worship Damalie Aguma Asimwe.
He is also charged with incitement to commit an offence in Criminal Case No. 147 of 2026 before Chief Magistrate Ainembabazi Doreen.
According to the letter, Mufumbiro’s previous applications for bail, including a mandatory bail request, have been unsuccessful. He is expected to reappear in court on April 10, 2026, for rulings on his latest bail applications in both cases.
The accused says his wife, Edith Katende, had been battling cancer for a long period before her death. He notes that in her final days, she expressed a wish for him to be by her side and to lay her to rest.
“I approach Your Lordship not as a man who disregards the law, but as one seeking its most human and dignified expression,” Mufumbiro wrote, pledging to comply with any conditions that may be set for his temporary release.
He has asked the Chief Justice to intervene and guide the lower court to grant him bail to enable him attend the burial.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the Principal Judge, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Chief Magistrate of Kawempe, and his legal representatives.
The request now places the spotlight on the court’s discretion to grant temporary release on compassionate grounds as the judiciary balances legal procedure with humanitarian considerations.
