KAMPALA.
Renowned human rights activist Sarah Bireete has finally regained her freedom after spending a fully month in the coolers .
Bireete was granted bail on Wednesday after being charged with unlawful obtaining or disclosing personal data (specifically, National Voter’s Information).
The Executive Director for the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG) was on Wednesday granted a cash bail of Shs1 million and ordered to deposit her passport with the court.
She was also ordered not to leave Uganda without the permission of the court.
“The accused is granted a cash bill in the sum of Uganda Shs1 million. The sureties shall be bound in the amount of Shs10 million each, not cash.
The accused is not to leave the country without leave of this court.
The passport should be deposited with the court as a conditional precedent,” said Buganda Road Court Principal Grade One Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko in her bail ruling before fixing the case for hearing on February 27, 2026.
The magistrate also asked the prosecution to disclose to the defence lawyers the evidence they intend to rely on to prosecute Ms Bireete, before the hearing date.
Activist Sarah Bireete finally released on bail, not to leave Uganda without court’s permission
Ms Bireete was arrested on December 30, 2025 and subsequently remanded to prison, where she has been since.
Her earlier attempts to secure bail had been denied.
The prosecution alleges that Bireete, together with others still at large, between January 2025 and December 2025, at various locations within Uganda including Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso districts, unlawfully obtained or disclosed National Voters’ Information.
The data is said to be controlled or processed by the Electoral Commission and was allegedly accessed or shared without the commission’s prior consent.
Who is Bireete?
Bireete has been outspoken on the human rights violations inflicted on Ugandans and the misuse of public funds. She is a founding partner and executive director for Center for Constitutional Governance (CCG), a Uganda constitutional watchdog (non-governmental organisation) based in Kampala.
Previously, she was the deputy executive director of the same NGO from 2011 to 2019. Prior to 2011, she was working as a public defender at the Public Defenders Association of Uganda.
A lawyer by profession, the human rights activist is a member of several boards of organisations, as well as governing committees of schools and students bodies.
Bireete also chairs national coalitions, including the national coalition on civic space in Uganda, and she is the coordinator of the international human rights defenders group known as Vuka Allies, for Uganda.
She has enriched knowledge and understanding of governance issues, especially in areas of constitutionalism, human rights, civic space, electoral democracy, land rights, research and advocacy, public interest litigation, as well as conflict transformation.