The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) condemns the arrest and continuous detention of Ugandan human rights lawyer and citizen observer Dr. Sarah Bireete.

Dr. Bireete, executive director of Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG) who also serves as board chair of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM), was arrested on 30 December 2025, weeks before the elections in Uganda on 15 January 2026.

According to GNDEM, Dr. Bireete and CCG “have spoken about threats to electoral integrity and warned of declining public trust in elections” as concerns about the elections have been raised due to reports of pre-election intimidation and violence including concerns about the accreditation of election observers.¹

Denying all charges, Dr. Bireete is being accused of “unlawfully obtaining or disclosing voters’ information without the consent of the Election Commission” in violation of the “Data Protection and Privacy Act by sharing sensitive electoral data in districts including Kampala, Mukono, and Wakiso between January and December 2025.”² Her petition for bail was denied and she is further remanded until 28 January 2026.

³In the lead up to the elections, there has been an escalating crackdown on civic and democratic actors in Uganda as a direct attempt to reduce transparency and intimidate citizens who may scrutinize the process, GNDEM said in a statement.

Election observers, who have been recognized as human rights defenders, face “harassment, false accusations, defamation and threats: to infringement on their right to free movement, detention, expulsion and physical violence. Some have even been killed while carrying out their work.”⁴

ANFREL joins like-minded organizations in calling the authorities to drop charges against Dr. Bireete and demand her immediate release. ANFREL further calls on the authorities to respect the work of election observer groups and civil society organizations in promoting and upholding electoral integrity.

The supporters of Dr. Bireete are raising funds to support the legal expenses, immediate financial support for her dependents, and essential subsistence costs during her detention. Visit this link to donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/freesarahbireete 

ANFREL is a regional network of citizen election observation organizations in Asia and one of the regional networks of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM), committed to promoting democratic elections through independent, nonpartisan election observation.

1. https://gndem.org/stories/gndem-expresses-serious-concern-about-arrest-of-leading-uganda-nonpartisan-citizen-observer-and-gndem-chairperson/ ↩︎
2. https://www.independent.co.ug/no-bail-for-bireete-further-remanded-to-january-28/ ↩︎
3. https://gndem.org/stories/gndem-condemns-further-repression-of-civil-society-in-uganda-ahead-of-elections/ ↩︎
4. https://srdefenders.org/information/the-situation-of-election-observers-as-human-rights-defenders%ef%bf%bc/#_ftnref1 ; https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2024)039-e ; https://www.oas.org/fr/CIDH/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2024/112.asp  ↩︎