UPDF Confirms Holding Missing Masaka Priest

The Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) has confirmed holding  Reverend Father Deusdedit Ssekabira, a priest under Masaka Diocese in detention.

 

Fr Ssekabira, the Assistant Priest of Bumangi Parish in Kalangala District, went missing on December 3 after he was picked up by armed security operatives who whisked him away without informing his close associates of the reasons for his arrest or where he was being taken.

 

He was picked up from the offices of his non-government organisation, Universal Chastity Education, located in Katwe Zone, Masaka City. 

 

His whereabouts remained unknown until Sunday evening, when the UPDF accepted responsibility for holding him. 

 

In a statement signed by Colonel Chris Magezi, the Acting Director of Defence Public Information, the army confirmed that the priest was arrested by security forces for alleged involvement in violent subversive activities against the state.

The statement indicates that the priest is currently in lawful custody to assist with further investigations into the matter. 

 

 The statement follows a series of demands from the Bishop of Masaka Diocese, Severus Jjumba, and the priest’s relatives, asking the government to explain Fr Ssekabira’s whereabouts.

Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba, the President of the Democratic Front and a relative of the priest, has also challenged the state to hastily produce him in court, wondering why security agencies did not engage diocesan authorities if they had issues with the priest.