Activists warn of election manipulation as Uganda heads to the polls

The activist coalition Africans for Africa said the Ugandan government has effectively transferred control of the electoral process from the country’s Independent Electoral Commission to the security forces, creating conditions that could enable large-scale vote rigging. 

The group also accused authorities of barring independent election observers and restricting media access, measures they say further undermine transparency.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo said the political atmosphere in Uganda has grown dangerously tense and called on the international community to intervene urgently.

“We are witnessing the systematic dismantling of democratic safeguards,” Njagi said. “Without observers, free media or an independent electoral body, this election risks becoming a mere formality rather than a genuine democratic exercise.”

The activists also condemned what they described as widespread human rights abuses against opposition figures, particularly supporters of Robert Kyagulanyi, widely known as Bobi Wine, who is challenging President Yoweri Museveni for the presidency. 

Kyagulanyi’s campaign has repeatedly accused security forces of harassment, arrests and intimidation of its supporters.

Meanwhile, Kenyan activists who were previously detained in Uganda have filed a case at the East African Court of Justice, accusing the Ugandan government of unlawful abduction and detention.

Museveni, 81, has ruled Uganda for nearly four decades, presiding over a political system in which the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has become deeply intertwined with the state. 

Critics argue that this fusion has left little room for genuine political competition.

Despite his long tenure, Museveni is seeking another term, campaigning under the slogan “Protecting the Gains.” He frequently portrays himself as the architect of Uganda’s stability, often invoking his role in the guerrilla war that brought him to power in 1986.

In lengthy speeches rich with rural imagery, Museveni likens his leadership to that of a farmer tending a crop that has yet to reach full harvest.

 He continues to frame himself as a revolutionary figure, sometimes appearing in military fatigues alongside his trademark safari hat.

Educated in Tanzania during the height of Africa’s liberation movements, Museveni was once viewed internationally as a reformist leader.

 British journalist William Pike, who interviewed him in 1984, later described him as a visionary whose confidence and discipline inspired those around him.

In his early years, Museveni won praise for economic reforms, progress in reducing poverty and efforts to combat HIV/AIDS. He also gained international support for positioning Uganda as a regional stabilizer, contributing troops to peacekeeping missions in Somalia and hosting large numbers of refugees.

However, critics say his rule has gradually drifted toward authoritarianism. Uganda’s military interventions in neighboring countries, corruption scandals and the passage of one of the world’s harshest anti-homosexuality laws in 2023 have strained relations with Western allies.

Once known for saying he would retire to tend his prized Ankole cattle, Museveni has instead become one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, outlasting all but a handful of his peers on the continent.

As Ugandans head to the polls this week, rights groups warn that the outcome may not reflect the will of the people unless urgent steps are taken to restore transparency, accountability and respect for fundamental freedoms.