The Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Governance (CCG) and Chairperson of the Global Network of Election Monitors (GNEM), Dr Sarah Bireete has called for restrictions on military involvement in Uganda’s electoral processes.
Bireete’s demand follows allegations that the army was responsible for nearly 80% of the electoral violence during the recent Kawempe North Parliamentary by-election, where journalists and civilians sustained serious injuries.
She emphasized that Uganda’s laws clearly outline when the army should be invited by the police to assist with election security, but this protocol was disregarded in Kawempe.
Bireete who was speaking at the weekly press and public engagement with the Radical New bar at the Uganda Law Society (ULS) head offices in Kampala, noted that the military’s deployment was unnecessary and only contributed to violence rather than preventing it.
In a bold statement, she challenged President Yoweri Museveni to admit being accountable for military’s involvement into violence, arguing that his justification for military deployment in elections contradicts democratic principles.
Her remarks have sparked debate, further highlighting tensions over military involvement in Uganda’s electoral processes.
In response at the same event, Kampala Metropolitan Liaison Officer SSP Donald Muhwezi suggested that increasing the number of police officers could help prevent the need for military involvement in future elections.
By Ben Musanje
21st Mar, 2025
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