Overview
- OHCHR’s 9 January assessment says the election environment is marked by repression and intimidation targeting opposition figures, human rights defenders, journalists and dissenting voices.
- The report names the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act 2022, the NGOs (Amendment) Act 2024 and the UPDF (Amendment) Act 2025 as tools used to curb expression, association and peaceful assembly through arrests, raids and tighter control over civil society and media.
- Investigators document live fire to disperse peaceful gatherings, abductions in unmarked “drones,” incommunicado detention in unauthorized “safe houses,” arbitrary arrests and prolonged pre-trial detention.
- Undue restrictions on the National Unity Platform include roadblocks, raids, blocked access to offices, forced confinement of leaders and forced dispersal of events, alongside a directive banning live broadcasts of so‑called riots or unlawful processions.
- Kizza Besigye remains jailed on treason charges with repeated bail denials, Sarah Bireete is remanded until 21 January, and High Commissioner Volker Türk urges safe participation by all voters, restraint by security forces and accountability for violations including those left unresolved from 2021.