Vice President Jessica Alupo has assured Parliament that Amuria District Woman Member of Parliament Margaret Etilu will be released this week.
Etilu, a newly elected legislator on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket, was reportedly arrested by a team of detectives shortly after visiting the home of former Speaker Anita Among on May 23.
Alupo made the revelation following a query by Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi, who had asked about the whereabouts of Etilu and other opposition figures who have reportedly disappeared.
“Hon. Margaret Etilu, she has met some of her family members were permitted to have an interaction with her. She is safe, she is healthy, and she will be joining us soon,” Alupo told Parliament.
The Vice President added that the government has been in regular contact with law enforcement officers regarding Etilu’s welfare.
“We have been speaking to the law enforcement officers on phone, some of them we have met physically. We did not want to involve cameras from the messages that we have received, the assurance is that she will be joining us anytime this week,” she said.
Alupo also highlighted the need for the Minister of Security and the Attorney General to provide clarity on the legal procedures surrounding the detention of lawmakers. She emphasized that the matter extends beyond political lines.
“The concern that the leader of opposition has on Honorable Margaret Etilu is a concern that we all have about her, this issue affects all of us as members of Parliament, as leaders, as Ugandans,” Alupo said.
She requested that the Minister for Security return to Parliament next week with a statement on Etilu and other missing figures, saying the matter “should be presented to this House in black and white.”
Etilu’s detention had sparked widespread debate by the public, Teso MPs and her family.
