Political tensions are mounting in Uganda as the country prepares for presidential elections scheduled for Jan. 15, with authorities detaining opposition figures and a prominent civic activist.
Ugandan officials have arrested several opposition leaders along with Sarah Bireete, a well-known civil society leader, accusing her of illegally accessing the national voters’ registry. Critics argue the charges are politically motivated and stem from her outspoken criticism of President Yoweri Museveni, who is seeking a seventh term in office.
Bireete, executive director of the Kampala-based Center for Constitutional Governance, had spoken to The Associated Press in December, shortly before her arrest, describing Museveni’s Uganda as “a military dictatorship” masquerading as a democracy.
“The evidence is clear that Uganda can no longer call itself a constitutional democracy,” Bireete said at the time. “What we are witnessing is family rule, with power shared between the father, brother and son, while other government officials are reduced to mere figureheads.”
Museveni’s main challenger in the upcoming vote is musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu. Bireete previously alleged that the military had taken over Wine’s security arrangements and detained key members of his inner circle, describing the actions as “targeted lawfare” against the opposition.
President Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986, consolidating power through constitutional changes that removed presidential term and age limits. His critics say elections are routinely marred by intimidation, arrests of rivals, and heavy deployment of security forces at opposition events.
Despite the crackdown, Bireete expressed cautious optimism in December that the elections could still bring change. “Citizens have made this a real contest,” she said, noting that voter data showed districts with the largest populations strongly favoring the opposition and political reform.
