Prominent human rights lawyer and Executive Director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG), Dr Sarah Bireete, was on Wednesday granted bail by the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court after spending nearly a month in detention on charges of unlawfully obtaining or disclosing voters’ data.
Grade One Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko set Bireete’s bail at Shs1 million, with strict conditions including depositing her passport with the court and a prohibition on leaving the country without court permission. The court also required each surety to execute non-cash bonds of Shs10 million.
Bireete, a seasoned constitutional expert and governance advocate, was arrested on December 30, 2025, at her home in Kampala in an operation carried out by security forces days before the January 15, 2026, general elections.
She was formally charged on January 2, 2026, under Sections 35(1) and (2) of the Data Protection and Privacy Act for allegedly accessing and disclosing information from the National Voters’ Register without the consent of the Electoral Commission of Uganda.
In court, Bireete pleaded not guilty to the charges. Her defence lawyers described the prolonged detention before bail as disproportionate. In earlier proceedings, one lawyer said: “I have never seen anything like this. Our client has literally been sentenced to 20 days of imprisonment. It contravenes the Ugandan Constitution.”
Bireete in Court
Civil society organisations and legal bodies, including the Uganda Law Society, challenged her initial remand at Luzira Prison, describing the charges as “fatally defective, unlawful, null and void.”
They argued that the phrase “national voters’ information” is vague and not defined in the law, and that her extended detention violated constitutional protections.
Bireete has been a vocal critic of governance shortcomings and has worked extensively on issues of civic space, electoral integrity, and constitutional reform. Her arrest and prolonged detention drew both national and international criticism, with rights groups describing it as arbitrary and harmful to democratic participation.
The case was adjourned to February 27, 2026, for further hearing.
