Dismissed Ngora Prisons warder Lawrence Ampe has reportedly been abducted by armed men in Ibanda district and whisked away to an unknown destination.
According to a post by lawyer and human rights activist Agather Atuhaire on her X account, the men who abducted Ampe first made a stopover at Ibanda Central Police Station.
“This brave young prison officer @UgandanMind that risked his job to speak up against the regime’s excesses, has been abducted from Ibanda”, she posted.
She added, “The people who abducted him were in plain clothes, but first made a stop at Ibanda Police Station”.
However, according to a family source, Ampe was taken to Mbuya CMI headquarters.
“A source has told his family member that they are driving him to CMI (or whatever new name they are called) in Mbuya. I hope he knew he was risking more than a job,” she said.
Recently, the Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) warned Ampe against addressing the media.
The Prisons Service spokesperson Frank Baine Mayanja warned Ampe in a communication that he is still bound by law under the service and isn’t allowed to speak to the media about any matter relating to the Prisons Service in the country since he isn’t the forces spokesperson.
“Regarding ex-warder Ampe Lawrence, he is hereby warned and reminded that he remains bound by the Code of Conduct and Ethics of the Uganda Public Service, in accordance with Sections 4.8.3 II”, the statement read.
According to the particular quoted section of the code of conduct regarding communication to the media, it states that, “Official information will be released to the media by officials who have been authorised to do so according to the laid down procedures”.
Towards the end of last year, Ampe, through his X account, called on the Commissioner General of Prisons, Johnson Byabashaij, to kick him out of the force officially to enable him to move on with his life.
Ampe reminded Commissioner Byabashaija of his dismissal and asked him to enable him to get the dismissal letter for record purposes and to enable him to take necessary further steps from the force, which has since blocked him on its social media accounts.
Following his dismissal from the service, Ampe joined the National Unity Platform (NUP) Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine’s campaign trail to canvass votes for him in Ngora district.
Ampe, who was No. 17974, was dismissed from the prisons service in a letter dated December 17, 2025, following a Prisons Council resolution with effect from December 9, 2025.
Ampe was dismissed over allegedly engaging in partisan politics and criticising the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) through social media.
However, without an official dismissal letter, Ampe is still considered a warder under the Prisons service, and this could put him in a precarious position since he campaigned for an opposition leader, yet he is still considered a serving officer without the dismissal letter.
Security agencies were yet to comment on the matter by the time of this publication.
