KAMPALA; The Uganda Police Force has confirmed the arrest of Sarah Bireete, the Executive Director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG), saying she is in police custody and will be arraigned before court in due course.
In a statement posted on X on Tuesday, Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Kawala Rachael said police had taken Bireete into custody but did not disclose the specific charges she faces.
Bireete is a well-known lawyer, election observer and human rights activist who frequently appears on television and radio talk shows, where she has been vocal on issues of constitutional governance, rule of law and the role of security agencies in politics.
Earlier, Bireete said in a post on X that her home in Kampala had been surrounded by security forces, writing: “My house is under siege by Police and Army.” Police later said she had been taken to the Central Police Station in the capital.
Close associates later confirmed that she was taken from her home and detained. Attempts to reach Bireete directly were unsuccessful, with her known phone numbers remaining unreachable following the operation.
By late afternoon, Police had not publicly detailed the reasons for the arrest.
However, multiple sources familiar with the investigations said authorities were considering charges related to hate speech, although this had not been formally confirmed by police by press time.
Last week, Bireete criticised the decision to restrict importation of StarLink internet infrastructure into the country without express authorization of the Chief of Defence Forces.
She proceeded to urge citizens to bypass the restrictions using cheat codes she did not reveal in her social media post.
The post on X gave the inference that security was seeking to block Internet during the January 15, 2026 national elections and that with Starlink users can bypass the restrictions.
Bireete is a prominent lawyer, human rights defender and election observer.
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