Woman rights activist Dr. Sarah Bireete // Photo courtesy
The Africans Rising Movement has called for justice for the detained human rights activist Dr. Sarah Bireete.
In a statement to the press on Wednesday, 7th January 2026, the movement called out the Ugandan government for arbitrary arrest and continued detention of Dr. Sarah Bireete.
“Africans Rising expresses grave outrage at the arbitrary arrest, continued detention, and denial of bail of Dr. Sarah Bireete,” the statement reads in part.
Bireete is a seasoned women’s rights lawyer who currently serves as the President of the East African Civil Society Organisations’ Forum (EACSOF) and Executive Director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG).
Police in Uganda on 31st December, 2025 released a public report on X saying that they had arrested and were detaining Dr. Sarah Bireete and that she would be arraigned in court but without giving clear dates and the nature of charges against her.
“She is in police custody. She will be arraigned before court in due course,” the post said, without specifying when she would appear in court or what charges she faces.
Africans Rising Movement Coordinator Hardi Yakubu, in his address, said that human rights defenders are not criminals and called out President Museveni’s government against authoritarian leadership.
“Human rights defenders are not criminals. They are essential pillars of democracy, accountability, and people-centred governance. The targeting of Dr. Bireete is part of a broader pattern of authoritarian consolidation across the continent, where states increasingly weaponise laws, courts, and security agencies to intimidate those who defend democracy and human rights,” Hardi noted.
The movement maintained that an attack on one human rights defender is an attack on all, terming Bireete’s arrest as a reflection of a continental crisis of shrinking democratic space in Africa.
Bireete has been critical of a range of government actions including what the opposition says are illegal detentions and torture of its supporters.
The arrest and detention of Dr. Sarah Bireete comes as long-serving President Yoweri Museveni’s government widens its crackdown on dissent and political opposition ahead of the January 15th general election.
This development comes as opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, remains in prison more than a year after he was detained on treason charges.
