Police chief Byakagaba briefs religious leaders on elections and security

KAMPALA - The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Abas Byakagaba, on Friday briefed the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) on the issues believed to be fueling tension ahead of this year's general election.

Meeting at the IRCU offices in Mengo, Kampala, Byakagaba committed that Police will ensure law and order during the election period diligently with impartiality.

“I have listened to the concerns of the Inter-Religious Council, and by extension, the concerns of the people. The concerns of passive impartiality, concerns of possible harassment by our people, concerns of arrests," he said.

"But I would like to explain arrests. The people we are arresting we are taking them to court. For example, this [Friday] morning we presented Madam Sarah Bireete (executive director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance) to court, and we met all the conditions for which we must follow lawfully.”

Rights activist Bireete was arrested on December 30, 2025, on charges related to unlawful obtaining and disclosure of voters’ data, contrary to the Data Protection and Privacy Act.

On Friday, she appeared at Buganda Road Court, where she was charged and later remanded to Luzira Prison until January 21 when her bail application is "revisited".
It means 46-year-old Bireete will be behind bars at the time of polling.

(L-R) Mufti of Uganda Shaban Mubajje, Abbas Byakagaba, Inspector General of Police, Stephen Kazimba, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, and His Eminence Metropolitan Jeronymos Muzeeyi of the Orthodox Church of Uganda in a prayer for peaceful elections. (Credit: Wilfred Sanya)

'Requisite security'

Meanwhile, IGP Byakagaba promised religious leaders that "we are going to continue serving Ugandans and serve them diligently without any partiality".

“We will look at all Ugandans using the same face. But my biggest emphasis is that we encourage Ugandans to follow the law as I also encourage my own people to do everything ensuring that it is within the law and we are committed to that," he said. 

"We are committed to the protection of Ugandans and their property. We are also committed to securing the forthcoming elections which are to take place on January 15, and I want to give assurance to our people that we are going to offer them the requisite security once again."

Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu of the Church of Uganda, told journalists after the meeting that they had invited the Police chief to interact on the security situation in the country, including reports about illegal detentions and abduction of "God's people".
Kaziimba is the chairperson of the Council of Presidents for IRCU.

“It is our mandate because we have ears for the people and eyes and also God-given mandate for the lives of the people," said the archbishop.

"It was our concern that the work of the Police is to keep law and order but also keep the people and their property but also ensure that order is promoted.

“It created a lot of anxiety, a lot of political unrest and we thought we needed some clarity even on some disruptions and the harassment of political opposition campaigns, some candidates who feel they are not given actual fairness, their rallies are always interrupted. 

"We felt it's very important to have our Inspector General of Police to come on and address this and other emerging issues to ensure that we have a peaceful election and we are so grateful that he has come to explain to us.”