Court has today (July 1, 2026) granted bail to veteran politician and women’s rights activist Dr. Miria Matembe, ruling that her advanced age, deteriorating health and the constitutional presumption of innocence justified her release as she awaits trial on charges of promoting sectarianism.
The decision by Magistrate Gloria Apio followed hours of legal arguments at Luzira Magistrates Court, where prosecutors sought to keep the 73-year-old former Minister of Ethics and Integrity in custody. But her lawyers argued that she posed no flight risk and required medical care.
In her ruling, the magistrate found that Matembe’s age and health, together with her right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, weighed in favour of granting bail.
The court rejected the prosecution’s request to continue holding her pending trial.
State prosecutors had argued that Matembe failed to sufficiently establish her identity because she did not present a national identity card or passport, questioned whether she had a fixed place of residence after alleging she had been in hiding, and said she had not produced adequate medical evidence to support claims of ill health.
Prosecutors also challenged some of her proposed sureties and argued that she could abscond.
Her defence countered that Matembe is a long-serving public figure with deep ties to Uganda, making her unlikely to flee. Her lawyers also told the court that she was visibly frail and reminded the magistrate that bail is not a determination of guilt but a constitutional right available to accused persons who satisfy the legal requirements.
Matembe was arrested earlier this week after several days of uncertainty over her whereabouts, during which family members reported that they could not locate her following a security raid on her home in Kampala’s Luzira suburb. Speculation over her detention intensified after Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, wrote on social media that she was in state custody, saying: “That one. I have her too.”
Authorities later arraigned Matembe before court, charging her with promoting sectarianism under Section 38(1)(d) of Uganda’s Penal Code Act.
Prosecutors allege that during a televised interview on DK TV Uganda in June, she said that “all our taxes are being spent on the Banyankole women ministers,” remarks the state argues were intended or likely to promote hostility, hatred or ill-will against members of the Banyankole ethnic community.
Matembe has not publicly entered a plea to the allegations, and the charges remain before the court.
The case has attracted significant attention in Uganda because of Matembe’s prominence in public life.
A lawyer by training, she served as minister for ethics and integrity and was a member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted Uganda’s 1995 Constitution. Once an ally of President Yoweri Museveni, she later emerged as one of his most vocal critics, particularly on issues of governance, constitutionalism and human rights.
Her arrest also drew scrutiny from opposition politicians and civil society groups, who questioned the circumstances of her detention after security agencies did not immediately disclose her whereabouts.
The government has maintained that the prosecution is based solely on alleged violations of Uganda’s criminal law.
Matembe’s release on bail allows her to remain out of custody while criminal proceedings continue.
