BREAKING: Miria Matembe Brought To Court, Charged With Promoting Sectarianism

By Swift Reporter

Veteran politician and former Ethics and Integrity Minister Miria Matembe has just been arraigned before the Grade One Magistrate’s Court in Luzira and charged with promoting sectarianism, days after she was arrested following a security operation that forced her into hiding.

The development was confirmed by National Unity Platform (NUP) Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya, who said he had joined other leaders and supporters at the court to stand in solidarity with the 73-year-old politician.

“We’re at the Grade One Magistrate’s Court, Luzira, to stand in solidarity with former Minister and Member of Uganda’s Constitutional Commission, Hon. Miria Matembe. She is visibly weak and frail. Despite this painful ordeal, she is still praising her God. She is set to be charged with ‘Promoting Sectarianism.’ What a country!” Rubongoya posted on X.

Court documents seen by Swift News indicate that Matembe was charged under Section 38(1)(d) of the Penal Code Act with promoting sectarianism.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors allege that during June 2026, while appearing on DK TV Uganda Platform, Matembe made statements claiming that “all our taxes are being spent on the Banyankole women ministers.”

The prosecution contends that the remarks were likely to “promote hostility, hatred or ill will against members of the Banyankole tribe.”

The charge sheet identifies Matembe as a 73-year-old businesswoman and resident of Luzira in Nakawa Division, Kampala. It bears the consent of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The court appearance followed Matembe’s arrest after she spent two days in hiding following a security raid on her Luzira home.

Her nephew, media personality JK Kazoora, had earlier disclosed that Matembe initially escaped arrest after receiving a tip-off while out on her routine morning jog.

According to Kazoora, she hid in nearby bushes before seeking refuge at a neighbour’s home and later relocated to a friend’s residence, where she remained until security operatives tracked and arrested her.

Kazoora claimed he had been assured by senior government officials that security agencies were no longer interested in Matembe, prompting him to inform family members and close associates that she could safely emerge from hiding.

However, he later alleged that security traced her location after some of those contacted used ordinary telephone calls instead of encrypted messaging platforms.

Security personnel had earlier raided Matembe’s home while she was away, searching the premises without, according to her husband Nehemiah Matembe, identifying themselves or explaining the purpose of the operation.

The arrest came amid escalating tensions between Matembe and Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, whom she had publicly criticised over governance, human rights and the role of the military in Uganda’s politics.

Matembe, one of the framers of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution, has in recent years become one of the country’s most outspoken government critics, frequently speaking out on constitutionalism, democracy and alleged human rights violations.

Under Uganda’s legal system, the charge remains an allegation, and Matembe is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.