UN Condemns Crackdown on Opposition and Media Ahead of Uganda Election

The United Nations has raised concerns over an intensifying crackdown on Uganda’s opposition and media ahead of next month’s election. At least 550 people, including supporters of opposition leader Bobi Wine, have been arrested, with reports of enforced disappearances, torture, and restrictions on press freedom. The UN urged Ugandan authorities to end repression, release detainees, and ensure citizens can participate freely in the elections. President Yoweri Museveni, in power for 40 years, is seeking to extend his rule.

The United Nations has expressed serious concern over an intensifying crackdown on opposition figures and the media in Uganda ahead of the country’s general election next month. The UN’s human rights agency reported that credible sources indicate at least 550 people have been arrested or detained since the beginning of the year. Many of those affected include members and supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP), the main opposition party led by presidential candidate Bobi Wine, highlighting growing tensions as the election approaches.

Ravina Shamdasan, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that the agency strongly deplores the increasing repression targeting both the political opposition and the press. She emphasized that it is deeply regrettable that Uganda’s election campaigns continue to be marked by widespread arbitrary arrests and detentions, the use of disproportionate or unnecessary force against opposition members, and undue restrictions on press freedom.

The UN noted that reports of arrests and detentions, as well as enforced disappearances, torture, and other forms of ill-treatment against opposition supporters and activists, have steadily increased over the past year. Security forces have reportedly employed unmarked minibuses, widely referred to as “drones,” to transport individuals to unofficial detention centers known as “safe houses,” where detainees are held incommunicado and without access to legal counsel or family members. In addition, heavily armed security personnel have been deployed at locations where the NUP intended to hold political rallies, further curbing political activity and intimidating supporters.

The UN called on the Ugandan authorities to end this pattern of repression and immediately cease the use of such coercive and repressive tactics. The agency urged the government to conduct impartial and thorough investigations into allegations of enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, and torture, and to hold those responsible accountable under the law. All detained individuals should be released promptly, the UN emphasized, and citizens must be allowed to fully and peacefully exercise their rights to participate in the country’s public and political affairs.

The statement also criticized ongoing restrictions on press freedom, highlighting recent cases in which journalists had their accreditation revoked, seemingly in response to critical reporting on the government and the election. The UN stressed that freedom of the press is an essential component of a fair and transparent electoral process and called for immediate measures to protect journalists from intimidation or retaliation.

Eighty-one-year-old President Yoweri Museveni, who has held power in Uganda for over 40 years, is seeking to extend his rule in the upcoming elections scheduled for 15 January. Observers warn that the combination of political repression, media restrictions, and security force intimidation could severely undermine the fairness and credibility of the election, raising concerns about the state of democracy and human rights in the country.