”They Forgot To Use WhatsApp & Used Direct Phone Calls”-Family Reveals How Security Tracked Matembe

By Swift Reporter

Veteran politician and women’s rights activist Miria Matembe was arrested after spending two days in hiding following a security raid on her Luzira home, according to her family.

The development was confirmed by media personality JK Kazoora, Matembe’s nephew, who said she was taken into custody and transferred to Mbuya, where she was also receiving medical attention.

“As of two hours ago, she was arrested and was taken to Mbuya. They have given her medication. From tomorrow or Tuesday we shall know if she is going to Luzira or be released,” Kazoora said.

Kazoora disclosed that Matembe had initially evaded arrest when security operatives raided her home on Friday.

According to him, Matembe was out on her routine morning jog when she received a tip-off that security personnel had surrounded her residence. She reportedly hid in nearby bushes before seeking refuge at a neighbour’s home. She later relocated to a friend’s house, where she remained until her arrest.

Kazoora said he had earlier spoken with senior government officials who assured him that security agencies were no longer interested in Matembe and that it was safe for her to come out of hiding.

Believing the matter had been resolved, he said he shared the information with family members and close friends. However, he later concluded that security operatives had used the communication to trace her location.

“I personally messaged the family members, but as of this morning, they arrested two of Auntie’s friends. I think they forgot to use WhatsApp calls or Telegram and instead used normal phone calls. They tracked them and got them in. These were the ones that revealed to the security the whereabouts of Matembe,” Kazoora said.

Earlier that day, rights advocates Dr. Sarah Bireete and Eunice Musiime were arrested by security operatives and briefly detained before being released.

It was not immediately clear whether they were the two friends Kazoora referred to in his account.

Security personnel had raided Matembe’s home in Luzira on Friday while she was away. Her husband, Nehemiah Matembe, said the officers searched the residence without identifying themselves or explaining the purpose of the operation before leaving without making an arrest.

The family later reported Matembe missing, saying they believed she could have been intercepted by security personnel while she was out jogging.

Matembe, a former Minister of Ethics and Integrity and one of the framers of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution, had in recent years emerged as one of the government’s most outspoken critics. She frequently criticised alleged human rights abuses, enforced disappearances, and what she described as the growing militarisation of Uganda’s politics.

Kazoora said the family hoped Matembe’s legal status would become clearer in the coming days.

“We pray that all will be okay by Tuesday,” he said.