news 13 June 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Wife of Missing NUP Supporter Dies After 5 Years of Agonizing Search
Sarah Nantumbwe Ddamulira has passed away after a five-year ordeal searching for her husband, John Ddamulira, an opposition supporter abducted in 2020. Her death highlights the profound grief and unresolved disappearances plaguing families of missing NUP members. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/another-wife-of-missing-nup-supporter-dies-amid-agony-of-unresolved-disappearances-5495112
The National Unity Platform (NUP) is once again mourning a tragic loss with the death of Sarah Nantumbwe Ddamulira, whose husband, John Ddamulira, a NUP activist, disappeared in 2020.
Nantumbwe’s passing on Saturday, June 13, 2026, comes after five years of desperate searching for her husband, who was reportedly abducted by security operatives from his shop in Kampala’s Kisekka Market. Her fate tragically mirrors that of Monica Nabukenya Kibalama, wife of another missing NUP supporter, John Bosco Kibalama, who died in November 2025.
NUP leadership expressed deep sorrow over Nantumbwe’s death, emphasizing the immense psychological toll on families of the forcibly disappeared. “She has spent the last five years moving everywhere looking for her husband. It is most painful that she has passed on without finding any answers,” stated NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya.
The Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, shared that Nantumbwe had expressed a premonition of her imminent death during a hospital visit, lamenting the possibility of leaving without knowing her husband’s fate. “Her children are now left without a father and mother,” Ssenyonyi added.
The anguish of these families has repeatedly been brought to light. Monica Nabukenya Kibalama, who also died under distress, reportedly suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure following her husband’s disappearance. Her husband, John Bosco Kibalama, vanished in June 2019, allegedly in a ‘drone’ vehicle.
Nantumbwe’s death occurs amidst ongoing concerns about state-induced disappearances. While there was recent relief with the release of MP Margaret Etilu after weeks of absence, NUP continues to maintain a list of at least 18 members who have disappeared over the years, leaving families without answers.