The Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM) expresses its serious concern regarding the arrest of Dr. Sarah Bireete in advance of Uganda upcoming general elections on 15 January 2026. Dr. Bireete is a leading Ugandan nonpartisan citizen observer and respected human rights lawyer who is Executive Director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG) based in Kampala, Uganda. She also serves as Chair of the GNDEM Board as well as the East and Horn of Africa Election Observation Network (E-Horn).

According to publicly available information and confirmed by the Ugandan Police Force, Dr. Bireete was arrested on Tuesday 30 December 2025 following the deployment of police and military personnel around her residence in Kampala and was subsequently taken into custody. As of this moment, no clear or credible explanation has been provided by the police or the prosecution regarding the specific legal grounds for her arrest or the charges being considered against her. Nor has she been provided access to legal counsel. This lack of transparency is unacceptable.

Dr. Bireete’s arrest and detention takes place just weeks before Ugandans go to the polls. Concerns about the elections have already been raised due to reports of pre-election intimidation and violence. As nonpartisan citizen election observers, Dr. Bireete and CCG have spoken out about threats to electoral integrity and warned of declining public trust in elections. They also raised concerns related to the accreditation of election observers.

The United Nations Special Rapporteurs have explicitly recognized election observers as human rights defenders. As such, “Member States are urged to take all necessary steps to establish conditions that allow national and international election observers to effectively do their work, and to protect them from any violence, threats, retaliation, adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of their legitimate exercise of their rights and freedoms.”

The actions of the Uganda authorities are in clear violation of Dr. Bireete’s rights as a nonpartisan citizen election observer and human rights defender. They also reflect a broader global trend of closing civic space as documented in GNDEM’s first ever “Report on the Global State of Nonpartisan Citizen Observers’ Rights 2024.

In accordance with Dr. Bireete’s rights as a Ugandan, a nonpartisan citizen election observer and a human rights defender, GNDEM calls for the following without delay:

  1. An immediate and public statement from the Uganda Police Force and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, clearly specifying the exact allegations, legal provisions invoked, and factual basis for the arrest.
  2. Full respect for Dr. Bireete’s constitutional rights, including access to legal counsel and protection from harassment or coercion.
  3. Her immediate release should the authorities fail to present credible, lawful, and evidence-based grounds for her detention.
  4. An end to the intimidation of civil society actors, nonpartisan citizen election observers, and human rights defenders, particularly in a sensitive pre-electoral context.

We stress that arbitrary arrests, opaque procedures, and the targeting of civil society leaders fundamentally undermine public trust, democratic governance, and the credibility of state institutions. Such actions will not go unnoticed by the international community.

GNDEM will continue to monitor this situation closely and will take all appropriate steps, including international advocacy, should this matter not be resolved swiftly, transparently, and in full accordance with the rule of law.