Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court has charged and remanded Dr. Sarah Bireete,Director of Centre for Constitutional Governance over unlawfully obtaining and disclosing National Voters’ Information without the consent of the Electoral Commission.
Bireete was on Friday formally arraigned before Grade One Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko, following her arrest earlier this week. She has been in police custody since Monday and spent the New Year period in detention, a development that has attracted attention from civil society and human rights actors.
During the court session, the magistrate read the charge to Bireete, who denied any wrongdoing. A plea of not guilty was entered on her behalf.
According to the prosecution, Bireete allegedly committed the offence between January and December 2025 at various locations within Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso districts.
The state claims that she, together with others still at large, unlawfully obtained or disclosed National Voters’ Information, which is controlled and processed by the Electoral Commission, without the commission’s prior consent. The offence is said to contravene Section 35 (1) and (2) of the Data Protection and Privacy Act.
Chief State Attorney Joan Keko informed court that the matter was before it for plea and added that investigations were still ongoing.
The case was briefly stood over for more than 30 minutes to allow the defence team to upload the details of Bireete’s proposed sureties onto the court’s Electronic Case Management Information System (ECMIS).
“The investigations are still ongoing, and we seek an adjournment to enable us update court on the status of the investigations,” Keko said.
Through her lawyer Jude Byamukama, Bireete applied for bail, citing constitutional provisions and her personal circumstances.
“Article 23(6)(a) of the Constitution gives an accused person the right to apply for bail, and she enjoys the presumption of innocence,” Byamukama submitted.
He told court that Bireete is 49 years old, a mother of two biological children and an adoptive mother of four, and the director of a civil society organisation actively engaged in governance work. He added that she suffers from hypertension and had presented a medical report in support of her application.
Byamukama also introduced several sureties, including Mr Joseph Beyaga, a managing director of Power FM and Bireete’s brother; Hon Winifred Kizza, a former Kasese District Woman Member of Parliament and former Leader of the Opposition; activist Joseph Ochieno; and retired ambassador to the United States Edith Sempala.
“I have explained to the sureties their obligations to court, and they are ready and willing to ensure the applicant’s appearance whenever required,” he said.
The defence argued that the alleged offence is document-based and that Bireete could not interfere with investigations.
“This is a document-based offence, and the applicant has nothing to interfere with. We do not even know when the matter will be fixed for hearing,” Byamukama added.
However, the prosecution asked court for time to respond to the bail application.
“If it pleases this court, we are not ready to respond and seek time to file a reply,” Keko said.
Byamukama countered that the court had discretion to grant bail, noting that the state had not filed any affidavit opposing the application and that Bireete had been in custody since December 30, 2025.
In her ruling, Magistrate Jatiko held that the prosecution was entitled to respond to the bail application.
“The prosecution deserves the right to reply to the bail application, this being a case brought before court by them,” she ruled.
The magistrate adjourned the bail application to January 21, 2026, and ordered that Bireete remain on remand until that date.
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