Africa-Press – Uganda. Four years after the disappearance of Godfrey Kissembo, a supporter of the National Unity Platform (NUP) in Mubende District, his family is still searching for answers.
His wife, Justine Nakubulwa, says she has endured years of grief and hardship raising their eight children alone since his alleged abduction on January 21, 2021.
Kissembo, a resident of Nsengwe Village in Buwekula South, was reportedly abducted after an incident involving the removal of a campaign poster bearing President Museveni’s image from a school building in Kassambya County.
“My husband was abducted in January 2021, and it has now been four years since his disappearance,” Nakubulwa said tearfully. “We have tried everything to demand his return, but all in vain.”
Nakubulwa, who is now the sole breadwinner, shared the toll Kissembo’s disappearance has taken on her family. With no formal job and children frequently falling ill, she said basic survival has become a daily struggle.
“One of my children didn’t even receive a school report for the first term,” she said. “I face serious challenges feeding this family. I’m a single mother, and sometimes I don’t know where the next meal will come from.”
Her remarks came during a visit by a delegation of NUP leaders who delivered relief items to her home, including rice, sugar, bread, posho and soft drinks.
While receiving the support, Nakubulwa broke down in tears as she recounted her sleepless nights and the enduring hope that her husband might still return.
“At night, I wake up and sit on my bed, thinking about my husband, hoping that one day he will return,” she said.
“But if he is dead, the government should at least tell us or show us where he was buried.”
Nakubulwa thanked the NUP leadership, both at the national and district levels, for standing by her family during their ordeal.
“I want to thank President Kyagulanyi because he took care of my children by offering them free education,” she said.
“Not only him, but also leaders like David Lewis Rubongoya, Joyce Bagala, and many others have helped us. And here in Mubende, I especially thank Madam Sumayah Nabawanuka for always checking on me and supporting us financially.”
The NUP chairperson for Mubende District, Pafuladulito Kyeyune, led the team that visited the family. He emphasised the importance of community solidarity and reaffirmed the party’s commitment to supporting Kissembo’s family.
“We came here as leaders from Mubende to check on the welfare of this family because the breadwinner was kidnapped four years ago,” Kyeyune said.
“We brought some relief items to support their lives, and we want to make it clear that we will always stand with them.”
He praised party well-wishers for their contributions, including Sureman Ssegawa, a parliamentary aspirant in Mubende Municipality, who donated 50 kilogrammes of rice, and Sylver Kanyike, an aspirant for mayor of South Division, who pledged to pay school fees for one of Kissembo’s children.
“We shall never abandon this family,” Kyeyune said. “Kissembo was a supporter of NUP. We don’t know whether he is alive, but we remain hopeful that the government will release him one day.”
Local leaders also used the occasion to denounce the broader wave of enforced disappearances targeting NUP supporters across the country.
“We want to inform the government that we shall not give up on our mission to liberate this country,” said several NUP officials, calling for an end to what they described as politically motivated abductions.
Kissembo’s case adds to the growing list of unresolved disappearances linked to the 2021 general elections, which opposition leaders and human rights organisations have repeatedly criticised as marked by state repression and intimidation. For his family, however, the struggle remains personal — a daily battle to survive, and a longing for answers that continue to elude them.
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