Kategorie: Humans

Authorities across East and Southern Africa continued their campaigns of harassment and arbitrary arrests and detention of independent journalists over the past year, Amnesty International said today ahead of World Press Freedom Day.

The organization documented sustained intimidation, harassment, and attacks on independent media in several countries in the region. Amnesty International also documented increased internet blockades or shutdowns and the use of restrictive cyber security laws to restrict media freedom, especially in countries that held elections in 2025 and early 2026.

“Across the region, governments and in some instances non-state actors, intensified their crackdowns on the media and journalists through shutdowns and arrests and arbitrary detentions. They weaponized criminal justice systems to target journalists and continued to use broad and vaguely worded laws to silence and intimidate them. This all came at a time when media revenues were low, putting an even greater strain on press freedom,” said Tigere Chagutah Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

Freedom under siege

In Ethiopia, journalists have faced a renewed wave of crackdowns by the authorities in recent months. Prominent outlets such as Wazema Radio and Addis Standard have had their licenses arbitrarily revoked.

Across the region, governments and in some instances non-state actors, intensified their crackdowns on the media and journalists through shutdowns and arrests and arbitrary detentions.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

Journalists have been detained following unlawful surveillance, while reports of enforced disappearances of journalists have increased. Most recently, on 15 April 2026, Million Beyene, managing editor of independent media outlet Addis Standard, was abducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, by members of the national intelligence agency, according to the media house. Millions were held for two weeks in an undisclosed facility without access to his lawyer or family. His abduction appears to be linked to his work as a journalist. He was subsequently handed over to his family and legal team on 28 April.

Measures targeting Ethiopian journalists and media outlets have increasingly extended to international media.

In Tanzania, in August 2025, the home affairs minister ordered police to conduct “online patrols” to apparently monitor “individuals who used digital platforms to disrupt peace and security”.

In September, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority imposed a 90-day ban on online platform JamiiForums, alleging it had published misleading and defamatory content about the government, in contravention of the 2020 Online Content Regulations and its amendments. 

In October, Tanzania’s authorities imposed a partial internet shutdown during the general elections. Both local and international media were barred from covering the human rights situation in the country in the lead up to and after the elections.

In Uganda, security forces attacked dozens of journalists covering the March 2025 parliamentary by-elections in Kawempe in the capital, Kampala.  Journalists from NTV Uganda and the Daily Monitor newspaper were also subsequently banned from covering parliamentary proceedings and the presidency. The 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, which criminalizes the “promotion of homosexuality” through publishing, broadcasting, distribution, and online expression, and imposes penalties of suspension or cancellation of licenses, continued to create a restrictive and intimidating environment for journalists, editors, podcasters, human rights reporters, and community media outlets covering LGBTQI+ lives, public health, violence, forced evictions, court cases, or advocacy.

In Zimbabwe, journalist Blessed Mhlanga remains in exile following his speech at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on 18 February 2026 where he spoke about media repression and shrinking civic space. Gideon Madzikatidze, a journalist with Bulawayo24, has remained in custody since 18 February 2026 after he was detained for publishing a story alleging corruption involving a waste management company. He has been charged with cyberbullying and “broadcasting without a licence,” despite the story being published online. He has been denied bail three times. 

 Media freedom in armed conflicts

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), control of large swathes of eastern DRC by the March 23 Movement (M23) armed group has had a chilling effect on the media. M23’s detention, torture, and threats against journalists have forced numerous journalists to flee M23-controlled areas and influenced coverage by other independent journalists of M23 abuses and other sensitive issues.

In Mozambique, the National Institute of Communication suspended for 48 hours Vida and Encontro radio stations in Nampula city in February 2025. It claimed, without evidence, that their broadcasting was disrupting the connection between the local airport’s control tower and aircraft. At least one of the stations – Radio Encontro – was known to be critical of the government and of the 2024 elections.

In June, around 16 journalists were arrested and their equipment confiscated by the security forces in Muidumbe district, Cabo Delgado. They were interrogated and intimidated for two hours in nearby Macomia district in connection with their attempt to photograph the destruction of public infrastructure in Macomia during armed conflict. The district administrator had previously authorized the journalists to take photographs.

Journalism is not a crime. Amnesty International reiterates its call to authorities in the region to immediately release all journalists being held for doing their work, quash their convictions and sentences, and drop ongoing charges against them. They must also refrain from enacting laws that stifle media freedom

Tigere Chagutah

In Somalia, journalists were attacked by security forces and subjected to threats, harassment, intimidation, beatings, arbitrary arrests and prosecution. The government stepped up attempts to control and censor journalists reporting on public interest issues, including insecurity, corruption and forced evictions.  

In South Sudan, President Salva Kiir Mayardit signed into law the Cybercrimes and Computer Misuse Act in February 2026. South Sudanese human rights defenders and the Committee to Protect Journalists raised alarm about the act, warning that it could criminalize legitimate online activity and be abused to further restrict media freedom.

In Sudan, amid the ongoing conflict, journalists have been targeted by both sides with arrests, detentions, abductions and killings.

“In all the cases of attacks against journalists that Amnesty International has documented, no one has been held accountable. Victims also continue to be denied access to justice and effective remedies. This increased hostility against the media threatens people’s access to information and weakens accountability,” said Tigere Chagutah.

“Journalism is not a crime. Amnesty International reiterates its call to authorities in the region to immediately release all journalists being held for doing their work, quash their convictions and sentences, and drop ongoing charges against them. They must also refrain from enacting laws that stifle media freedom”.

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The outbreak of conflict has had a devastating human rights impact on millions across the Middle East, affecting civilians in at least 12 countries. More than 5,000 people have been killed, tens of thousands injured, and millions displaced across the region.

 In Lebanon, at least 2,567 people have been killed, including 103 healthcare workers. Despite a fragile ceasefire, attacks there have continued in recent days. Israeli forces retain control of land in southern Lebanon and are deliberately destroying civilian infrastructure and homes there.

Bissan Fakih, MENA Campaigner at Amnesty International, describes her first trip to her family home in southern Lebanon amidst the shaky ceasefire.

 I was relieved when we crossed the makeshift bridge at Qasmiye. It was hastily constructed after Israeli air strikes destroyed it, but easy to drive on. It also meant I was approaching home. Bridges over the Litani River, connecting southern Lebanon to rest of the country, had been blown up one after the other in Israeli air strikes.

With the 10-day ceasefire of the Israel-Hezbollah war set to expire, I had decided to drive to the southern coastal city of Tyre, to check on my family home and check on the city in case it was going to be bombed again.

Rescue workers still searching for bodies

I arrived at the site of an Israeli air strike, on a usually bustling street on Tyre’s waterfront. The strike came only a few minutes before the ceasefire took effect at midnight on 17 April. I imagine the people in those buildings had thought they survived the war. Rescue workers were still looking for bodies. They said 26 people had been killed in the attack.

A man at the site told me there was one person still beneath the rubble. He pointed at a weary looking rescue worker from the Risala Scouts – a civil defence organization – who was directing the search now on its fifth day and said he could answer my questions. I said a few words of respect given all that he and his colleagues had been through. Dozens of healthcare workers and first responders in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli air strikes since 2 March 2026 yet they continued to run into danger to save lives.

A man speaking to a reporter nearby pointed to a set of tattooed lines on his right arm. He pointed line by line yelling “gone!” at each one. They were the names of his family members.  “Only this one remains… They are not Hezbollah, where is Hezbollah?”

Most cars and motorcycles I passed had the photos of people killed in the fighting plastered on them. In the few hours I was there, there were three funerals. All of Tyre felt like one big funeral, and I guessed all of southern Lebanon did. In a village a short drive away, journalist Amal Khalil was being laid to rest after being killed in Israeli air strikes the previous day, despite the so-called ceasefire.

Close by, a temporary burial site used in the 2024 war, had rows of freshly dug numbered graves for people who couldn’t be buried in their ancestral villages because Israeli soldiers are still holding them as part of a ‘security zone’.

Despite the rubble around us, Tyre, either oblivious or out of a mothering kindness, was in her full April glory, all blue skies and clear blue water and swaying palm trees.

Home

My grandma has been gone for many years, but the house still smelled of her when I opened the door. No one was there – my family was displaced to my home in Beirut. They were among more than one million people who have been displaced since 2 March by the Israeli military’s overly broad mass evacuation orders.

I almost jumped out of my skin at the sound of a nearby explosion, automatically thinking it was an air strike. I realized then that it was likely the Israelis detonating homes in nearby villages. Relief followed by anguish. The so-called security zone Israel is holding several kilometres into Lebanon, and the Israeli army has been destroying civilian infrastructure and blowing up homes in the area.

The ceasefire was still holding in our neighbourhood, but I was tense being in an empty building and I worked quickly.

I packed a huge bag of loose photographs. I had made it my winter holiday project to organize our family photos into albums and move them to my home in Beirut, fearing they could get destroyed in another round of fighting, but I hadn’t gotten through them all. I also grabbed some warm weather clothes for my grandpa since the weather had changed during his displacement and some cake stands of my mom’s I’d been eyeing without the temerity to ask for or take, before locking up the house.

I kissed the door frame before I left and said a prayer for the house’s protection; I asked it to stay, to wait for our return. And then I superstitiously regretted it – I had always walked out of this house nonchalantly. Perhaps I jinxed it by giving the goodbye so much meaning.

Rubble of a damaged building in Tyre, southern Lebanon©Amnesty International/ Bissan Fakih

Tyre seafront southern Lebanon © Amnesty International/ Bissan Fakih

Living through the war we are documenting

Everyone on the Amnesty International team in Beirut has been affected in one way or another. Some of us are hosting displaced people; others have themselves been displaced. The researchers and campaigners covering violations in Lebanon are living through the war they are documenting.

Days like Black Wednesday, on 8 April, when Israeli forces killed more than 357 people in air strikes across Lebanon including in crowded civilian areas in Beirut, came frighteningly close to our homes and our office.

As we hear air strikes and worry about our own safety and that of our families, we also worry about the safety of the people whose cases we work on across the region, and we continue that work.

Despite the fragile ceasefire, the worry and grief have not eased. The destruction of homes and the killing of civilians in southern Lebanon, including of first responders, continues. Israeli surveillance drones circle overhead in Beirut too – a nauseating reminder that death from above could revisit our homes and places of refuge at any time.

My family is eager to go home, to be on our balcony, see our neighbours and enjoy the scents and comfort of the south. That cannot happen until we have a real, enduring ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.

The post ‘I said a prayer for the house’s protection; I asked it to stay, to wait for our return’: Notes from a trip to southern Lebanon appeared first on Amnesty International.

Imagine this scenario….

Imagine waking up one day to find that certain topics can no longer be discussed openly. Schools avoid difficult conversations. Journalists tread more carefully. Your news feed shows fewer critical voices. Public spaces feel less safe for protest or dissent. 

Nothing dramatic happened overnight! There are no obvious turning points, just a gradual shift. Yet over time, the space for dialogue, disagreement, and public participation has narrowed. You may have heard the term authoritarian practices in the news, in history lessons, or in conversations. But what does it really mean? What is considered an authoritarian practice, and what falls outside of it?  What do they actually look like in everyday life for ordinary people like you and me? How can we spot and resist these practices that seriously undermine human rights?  

Would you notice? And more importantly, if you did, would you know how to respond? 

For many people around the world, this scenario is not hypothetical. This is a lived reality, experienced by growing numbers of people around the globe. Authoritarian practices that violate human rights rarely arrive at once. More often, they emerge gradually, introduced through policies, narratives, and practices that might even seem reasonable in isolation. Measures limiting the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, or access to information are often justified in the language of security, stability, or national interest. These justifications can make restrictions feel necessary, at times even protective. 

Over time, repeated exposure to these narratives can normalize limitations on rights.  This gradual normalization is what makes such developments difficult to detect, and even harder to challenge. This makes them easy to overlook. When change is gradual, it rarely triggers immediate resistance. Instead, it reshapes expectations; what people believe is acceptable, possible, or safe.  This scenario reflects a broader global reality. Across the world, civic space is shrinking, and the rule of law is being weakened. Governments and other powerful actors are employing practices that limit what people can say, share, or challenge, while they undermine the institutions intended to keep a check on power. 

At a time like this, strengthening our knowledge and understanding of human rights is not optional. It is essential. Without that understanding, it becomes much harder to spot the signs showing the expansion of authoritarian practices, and recognize when human rights are being unduly restricted to respond effectively when they are. This erosion of our rights is often subtle and systemic. It does not always look like repression in its most obvious form. Instead, it works through discouragement, fear, and the quiet reshaping of what is considered “normal”. When people lose the ability to question, organize, or speak freely, the effects reach far beyond individuals. Entire societies are affected as powerful actors intend to unduly build, exercise, and entrench power for the benefit of a narrow group.  

But we can resist! The first step in resisting is learning; this is why human rights education becomes a powerful tool of resistance. 

Making sense of authoritarian practices through education  

Understanding these developments is not always straightforward. Authoritarian practices are rarely presented as such. Instead, they are embedded in complex political, economic, social, and cultural dynamics. They are not only about laws or policies; they are also about narratives, what people fear, what they believe, and what they accept as “normal”. This is not about which political affiliation or government system is best. It is about understanding how fear and division are used politically, how narratives are manipulated to justify authoritarian practices, and how we can start to question the systems and stories that allow injustice to grow.¹ Without the resources and tools to critically analyze these narratives, it becomes difficult to understand how rights are being restricted and eroded for the sake of concentrating power, or how to respond. This is where awareness becomes crucial.  

Recognizing patterns, questioning assumptions, and understanding human rights and the protections they give to keep power in check are key steps in responding effectively. Learning to ask questions about who benefits, what is being framed as a threat, and whose voices are being excluded is an essential part of this process. Critical awareness, therefore, is not automatic; it must be learned. This is where education in human rights plays a crucial role. Education can enable us to translate complex global issues into accessible and practical knowledge to act.  

Tools and Resources to Understand and Resist 

Amnesty International’s Rights Revealed: Human Rights and the Escalation of Authoritarian Practices Around the World is designed with this purpose in mind. This two-part educational resource is aimed at anyone seeking to understand how fear, division, and narratives are used to silence, control, and erode human rights. It’s not about political affiliations or governance systems. It focuses on the tactics themselves and how we can recognize and challenge them.  

The educational resources include: 

Part 1: Unpacking Authoritarian Narratives of Fear, Repression, and Control 

Complementary resource:  U.S.-specific Case Cards on Unpacking Authoritarian Narratives Rights of Fear, Repression and Control U.S.-specific Case Cards on Unpacking Authoritarian Narratives Rights of Fear, Repression and Control – Amnesty International 

Part 2: Resisting Authoritarian Practices in Defence of Human Rights 

It is available in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish. 

They aim to support learners, educators, and communities in making sense of these issues. This makes them relevant not only in classrooms, but also in community discussions, public spaces, or personal reflections. 

In a world where rights can be gradually restricted to further entrench power, being informed is a form of resistance. Education plays a crucial role in this. It equips individuals with the knowledge and confidence to question, to engage, and to challenge injustice in their everyday experiences.  

Act! Take the Next Step 

Understanding is the first step, but it should not be the last. Rights are not sustained by laws and institutions alone. They depend on individuals who are aware, engaged, and willing to act. 

You don’t need to be an expert to engage with these issues. 

Start by exploring Amnesty’s educational resources. Use them in your classroom, your work, or your community. Share them, discuss them, and question them. Reflect on how these issues appear in your own context. Ask questions. Share what you learn. The more informed and engaged we are, the stronger those rights become. You can: 

• Use them in teaching, workshops, or conversations 

• Reflect on how these issues appear in your own context 

• Engage in conversations about rights and responsibilities 

• You can explore the interactive quiz on Authoritarian Practices on Kahoot Quiz here  

Because when human rights are either quietly or openly undermined and eroded to concentrate power in a few hands, understanding and action matter more than ever. 

Footnote

1.  Amnesty International, Rights revealed: Human rights and the escalation of authoritarian practices around the world: Part 1 – Unpacking authoritarian narratives of fear, repression and control (2025), p. 1, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol32/0336/2025/en/ ︎

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In November 2024, Ugandan Opposition politician Kizza Besigye was abducted in Kenya and returned to Uganda where he is facing treason charges. In my conversation with his wife Winnie Byanyima, she talks about his health, his work in human rights, and the state of human rights in Uganda. Besigye was, at one time, the personal doctor of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni who has ruled Uganda for 40 years now. During this period, the country’s human rights situation has deteriorated.

His health is not good, but he is strong in spirit

Besigye is strong in spirit. He continues to state his innocence, and he continues to remind people that all this is political and that you never give up what you believe in, what you stand for politically, just because you are being persecuted. So, he’s bearing it all with a lot of strength, but his health is not that good.

He’s very strong in spirit because he understands that he is there because he disagrees. He understands that he must endure, he must not allow those who have imprisoned him to win by breaking him. So, his spirit is strong and he holds on to his values and his beliefs and resists from prison.

Dr Besigye flashes the peace sign as he walks out of court on 20 November 2024.Abubaker Lubowa/Daily Monitor

For him, it’s a political struggle. It’s a struggle for democracy and human rights and that’s the price he has been asked to pay and he’s ready to pay it, but he would rather be at home with his family. He was abducted in November 2024 and brought before a military court and then later transferred to an ordinary prison. That’s where he’s been since. There’s a handful of them, about 10, in this little prison [cell], with a very small space for walking.

He was abducted in November 2024 and brought before a military court and then later transferred to an ordinary prison. That’s where he’s been since.

Winnie Byanyima, Besigye’s wife

The prison conditions are awful.  The cell where he sleeps is so tiny that when I went in, when he was on hunger strike, to sit beside his bed, I had to sit at an angle, because the room is so narrow. The ceiling is so high, the light comes in from the top but doesn’t reach where he’s sleeping. So, he is most of the time in near darkness. He sleeps on a thin mattress that’s infested with bed bugs that are always biting him and he is  not allowed even to socialize with other prisoners and is almost completely isolated from them. He can’t go to church with them. He can’t play football. They’ve got spaces where they play games. He’s not allowed to step there.

Doctor, human rights crusader, and activist

Kizza Besigye turned 70 years old on April 22nd. He is a medical doctor; a career he started at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, while in exile.

Before that, he was a student activist. Back then [in the 70s], there was a new force of young people who wanted to change the politics of the country, to break out of being a neo-colonial state, to being a really independent state that’s just, equitable, and democratic. He joined them.

He went underground and joined a rebel group in Uganda, the National Resistance Army. He worked in the National Resistance Movement. There was an armed struggle. That’s where I met him because I too joined that revolution.

He set up the political structures of the National Resistance Movement [(Uganda’s ruling party]). He also served as Minister for Internal Affairs as a junior minister. He later served in the military as head of logistics and engineering. He was a member of parliament, the National Resistance Council. He also served in the Constituent Assembly that made a new constitution.

When President Museveni deviated from the goals of the liberation movement, Besigye criticized the direction. He was dragged to the military court and accused of indiscipline. That was the beginning of their disagreements. President Museveni could not tolerate criticism.

He has firm beliefs in justice, democracy, rights, and the rule of law. He believes everyone should be equal before the law. Because of these beliefs, he has sacrificed greatly and invested his time in organizing the public and non‑violent resistance.

Winnie Byanyima

Besigye later challenged President Museveni in the 2001 election.

Since then, he has been in and out of prison continuously. He is among the most arrested opposition leaders on the continent. His life has been one of constant imprisonment and harassment for challenging Museveni.

He has firm beliefs in justice, democracy, rights, and the rule of law. He believes everyone should be equal before the law. Because of these beliefs, he has sacrificed greatly and invested his time in organizing the public and non‑violent resistance.

At the time of his abduction in Nairobi, he had no presidential ambitions. After multiple contested elections, he concluded elections could not bring change and committed to non‑violent resistance.

Inadequate judicial protection and fair trial concerns

His case has involved repeated legal violations, denial of bail, and judicial bias.

We will continue resisting peacefully and believe that change will come, because to be in a struggle for justice and human rights is a good way to live.

Winnie Byanyima

Senior political leaders have publicly declared him guilty and hundreds and thousands of Ugandans have suffered similar persecution. Democracy requires struggle and sacrifice.

We will continue resisting peacefully and believe that change will come, because to be in a struggle for justice and human rights is a good way to live.

****Listen to Winnie Byanyima on Amnesty in Africa Podcast talking about the plight of her husband.

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Ugandan security forces targeted members and supporters of the opposition party National Unity Platform (NUP) with lethal force, arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment before, during and after the 15 January general elections, Amnesty International said today.

The organization received multiple reports indicating that between 15 and 18 January, the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Uganda Police Force likely killed at least 16 people across the country using unlawful force. They also arbitrarily arrested hundreds, subjected some to incommunicado detention or held them in unknown places of detention. Others were subjected to forms of ill-treatment, including acts that amount to torture, during arrests and while in detention. These  violations occurred amid a nationwide Internet shutdown imposed by the authorities just two days before the elections.

“Three months since security forces meted out untold brutality on the public, no one has been held accountable,” said Tigere Chagutah Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

“Ugandan authorities must ensure that that all allegations of human rights violations by the security forces are thoroughly, promptly, impartially and effectively investigated and that the officers responsible are held accountable.”

“Officers suspected of carrying out these abuses, including those who ordered or enabled them, must be suspended from work pending the completion of investigations.”

Between 5 January and 21 March, Amnesty International interviewed 33 men and 15 women based in Kampala city, Rubaga, Luwero, Bulenga, Mityana, Mukono, Rukiga, Mbarara, Luuka, Wakiso, Lira and, Tororo districts and Busoga region.

Three months since security forces meted out untold brutality on the public, no one has been held accountable.

Tigere Chagutah, Regional Director, Amnesty ESARO

Those interviewed included families of victims apparently killed by security forces; victims of gunshot injuries; victims of torture and other ill-treatment; victims of arbitrary arrests; eyewitnesses; and lawyers of those arbitrarily arrested. Amnesty International also reviewed six videos and six photos posted on social media or shared directly with the organization by trusted sources. The organization also reviewed charge sheets and official statements.

Ugandan authorities did not respond to Amnesty’s request for comment.

Unlawful use of lethal force by security forces

Amnesty International documented 10 incidents in which security officials appear to have used unlawful lethal force that resulted in the killing of at least seven people in Butambala, at least three people in Bulenga, two people in Luwero, and one person each in Rubaga, Nsambya, Mityana, and Mukono. Witnesses told Amnesty International that none of these victims was armed and they did not pose an imminent threat of death or serious injury to anyone.

Ugandan authorities must ensure that that all allegations of human rights violations by the security forces are thoroughly, promptly, impartially and effectively investigated and that the officers responsible are held accountable.

Tigere Chagutah

Amnesty International verified postmortem reports of six victims, all of which indicated that they had died from gunshot injuries. Family members told Amnesty International they were not allowed to witness the postmortem process and that authorities had not launched investigations into the deaths.

On election night, as election agents of opposition Member of Parliament Mwanga Kivumbi gathered in his Butambala home to return the declaration of results forms, the army stormed the compound and shot and killed at least seven people, evidence gathered by Amnesty International indicates. The Inspector General of the Police, Abbas Byakagaba, said the killings took place when over 100 people at Mwanga Kivumbi’s home attempted to attack a nearby police station and a polling station.

Gloria, * whose mother was killed during the incident, recalled seeing her mother fighting for her life among those who had been shot. She pleaded with the army officers for an intervention, but one officer said, “If you feel you’re dying, get yourself out.”

On 15 January in Rubaga, Victoria Ndagire, 33, was walking back home with others after voting when she was shot from the back of her head, with the bullet exiting through her eye. Security officers who came to the scene alleged that “she could have been hit by a stone.” Witnesses told Amnesty International that before the incident, they saw two-armed officers nearby. According to her postmortem report, she died from gunshot injuries.

Amnesty International also documented three cases of individuals who said they were shot and injured by people they believed to be police or army officers. They reported sustaining injuries in the abdomen and the legs. Two sources, who were at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala on 15 and 16 January, said that they saw at least 12 other people with gunshot injuries, and that at least three of them died in hospital.

Arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and incommunicado detention

Amnesty International documented 17 cases of arbitrary arrests, and interviewees provided information about 12 others who were arbitrarily arrested with them in Kampala, Masaka, Rukiga, Wakiso, Mbarara, Luuka, Lira, and Busoga region. The victims were arrested on the basis of their political affiliation. In all the cases documented by Amnesty International, victims were never presented with an arrest warrant, and, in some cases, they were arrested by individuals they believed to be plain-clothed security officers who neither identified themselves nor explained the reason for the arrest. Victims disclosed that during interrogation, they were questioned about their affiliation with the NUP or their support for its presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine).

Authorities must immediately and unconditionally release those still in detention solely for exercising their rights. The right to fair trial for those suspected of having committed an internationally recognized offence should be guaranteed.

Tigere Chagutah

Seven individuals were held incommunicado for a period ranging from three days to three weeks. In at least four of the cases, police denied holding the victims, pointing to possible cases of enforced disappearance. Three victims were held at an unknown detention facility, allegedly run by the military.

Victims of arbitrary arrest were charged with “incitement to violence, causing public nuisance, reckless driving, and possession of a voters’ register without reasonable cause.” Some have since been released on bail, while others remain in detention.

“Authorities must immediately and unconditionally release those still in detention solely for exercising their rights. The right to fair trial for those suspected of having committed an internationally recognized offence should be guaranteed,” said Tigere Chagutah.

Between 12 and 15 January, senior NUP officials, includeding Jolly Jacklyn Tukamushaba, Lina Zedriga, and Bright Muhumuza, were arbitrarily arrested by armed security officers, held at an unknown place of detention and charged, without legal representation, with a variety of offences, including ‘incitement to violence’ and ‘doing a rash and negligent act.’ They were never informed of the reasons for their arrest, and their families were never informed of their whereabouts until 6 February when they were charged in various courts.

The security officers came at 9:30am and ordered all of us to lie down. They started beating us with sticks and wires.

Victim

Buwembo Habib, NUP’s national mobilizer, was arbitrarily arrested by armed men in plain clothes believed to be soldiers, alongside two colleagues on 10 January as they drove to Masaka town for a political rally. On 12 January, they were charged, without legal representation, with causing public nuisance.  

On 14 January, 40 police and army officers forced their way into the home of Rodgers Lutaaya, NUP chairperson for Luuka district, who had assembled about 200 polling agents for training and deployment ahead of the next day’s elections.

“The security officers came at 9:30am and ordered all of us to lie down. They started beating us with sticks and wires,” an individual who was present in the home said.

The security officers arrested everyone at the home, except relatives of the candidate. They were taken to Kiyunga central police station where they were held until 5pm and then released without charge.

Torture and other ill-treatment

Amnesty International interviewed 12 people who reported being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment by security officers during arrests or while in detention. They described being beaten with wires, sticks and batons. Some were hit with an axe on their ankles, while others said they were squeezed with pliers on different body parts. In three cases, medical reports reviewed by Amnesty International corroborated victims’ testimonies.

Jonathan*, 25, an opposition official from Busoga region, recounted how soldiers severely beat him and seven of his colleagues after they were arbitrarily arrested on 15 January as they were heading to a tallying centre. “One of us lost his teeth and another lost his eye.”

On 27 January, Philip*, an NUP candidate in Luuka district, was abducted by four men he believed to be army officers who subjected him to incommunicado detention for a week. He said: “When we arrived at the detention centre, the officers asked for my phone and when they saw numerous NUP WhatsApp groups, one of the officers said, ‘You’re the terrorists here in Busoga.’ They tied both my hands and legs with a rope and caned me severely, leaving my legs numb.’  

Others were threatened with executions while in detention. Steven*, an associate to an NUP MP from Lira, was severely beaten when he was arrested together with four others by security officers on 26 December 2025. He was tortured and forced to “confess” that the MP had a gun. “They threw us on the floor of the car, and they were saying they would be taking us to the mortuary.”

“We had injuries on the head, hands, swollen body parts, and bleeding. We never got any medical treatment from the authorities,” Steven* lamented.

Amnesty International reviewed one video posted on social media on 19 January showing three men in camouflage outfits, one of them carrying a shotgun, beating with sticks three unarmed men who were laying on the ground. Two of the men on the ground wore vests similar to those worn by Uganda’s Electoral Commission officials.

The Ugandan authorities have international legal obligations to ensure that no one is subjected to arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearances, and to torture and other ill-treatment and to ensure that any such reports are investigated and prosecuted in fair proceedings, and victims are provided with effective remedies.

Tigere Chagutah

Amnesty International also verified a video published on social media on 27 January showing five men wearing Ugandan Police uniforms alongside men in plain clothes, beating a person with sticks in Nyanama, Lubaga Division.

The conduct in both videos amounts to torture and other-ill treatment.

Inhumane detention conditions

Some of those arrested said they were subjected to inhumane treatment at an unknown place of detention.

Three NUP members said that they were never given a change of clothes for over three weeks while in detention and were forced to use a UPDF-branded bedsheet as their towel and alternative clothing. They reported that guards brought food irregularly and denied them access to healthcare or sunlight throughout their detention.

Other detainees held in Lira and Luzira main prisons and Luzira Women’s Prison also reported extreme overcrowding, particularly during the election period.

Steven*, who was remanded at Lira main prison, said: “Five people can lie on top of you. You sleep only on one side up to morning. They give you food once a day, around midday.”

“The Ugandan authorities have international legal obligations to ensure that no one is subjected to arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearances, and to torture and other ill-treatment and to ensure that any such reports are investigated and prosecuted in fair proceedings, and victims are provided with effective remedies,” said Tigere Chagutah.

(*) Names have been changed to protect the identities of those interviewed

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