GENEVA — The United Nations Human Rights Office has issued a stark warning regarding Uganda’s upcoming presidential election, characterizing the pre-election environment as one dominated by systematic repression and intimidation tactics against opposition figures and dissenting voices. In a comprehensive report released Friday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) detailed concerning patterns of state-sponsored suppression ahead of the January 15 vote.
The Geneva-based agency documented multiple instances where Ugandan authorities have employed legal warfare and military legislation to curtail political activities. Security forces have reportedly utilized live ammunition to break up peaceful assemblies and deployed unmarked vehicles—locally referred to as ‘drones’—to abduct supporters of opposition parties.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk emphasized the imperative for Ugandan authorities to guarantee all citizens’ right to participate safely in the electoral process under international law. He specifically called for restraint, urging that ‘no unnecessary or disproportionate force, including lethal force, be used to disperse peaceful protests.’
The report highlights several specific cases, including the ongoing detention of opposition leader Kizza Besigye on treason charges and the imprisonment of prominent civic leader Sarah Bireete. Bireete, director of the Center for Constitutional Governance, was arrested December 30 on allegations of illegally accessing the national voters’ registry. A magistrate ordered her detained until January 21, effectively silencing one of the government’s most vocal critics during the critical pre-election period.
Human Rights Watch condemned Bireete’s arrest as evidence of the government’s ‘continuing intolerance of dissent.’ Before her detention, Bireete had publicly characterized President Yoweri Museveni’s administration as ‘a military dictatorship masquerading as democracy.’
President Museveni, 81, Africa’s third-longest-serving leader, seeks a seventh term amid accusations of systematically undermining democratic institutions. His main challenger, musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine (Kyagulanyi Ssentamu), has repeatedly reported military victimization of himself and his supporters, alleging that security forces dominate election preparations.
Ugandan police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the UN allegations. The country has not witnessed a peaceful presidential transition since gaining independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.