Get Ugandan Youth Activists Out of Jail

On December 16th, police from a unit known as the "Flying Squad" raided activists offices in Kampala and brutally arrested 16 youth activists known for their nonviolent activism, including Scovia Arinaitwe and Buwembo Habib and others listed below. They are being held without charge at high risk of torture, facing interrogations. Many of the activists are mothers and breadwinners for their families, who are now at high risk. We need money for bail, legal fees, food and water for detainees, and basic necessities for their families for things like child care, food, and transport to/from jail.

Rhize is working directly with local organizations and actors in Uganda to get them out of jail. We cannot do this without your solidarity.

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Movement-building is about long-term power, and in these moments, we have to show our solidarity not just through elevating the important work of these activists but by ensuring their safety and that they can make it back home to their families.

Most of the jailed activists are known for their work with The Alternative, which fights for the rights of unemployed youth (the majority of youth in Uganda) and Women4Uganda, which supports women’s access to basic rights.

Amongst them are activist Scovia Arinaitwe, who is a trainer, Rapid Response Coordinator and part of the Team of Directors for Solidarity Uganda/Action Alliance. A mother of two, she helped start the Women’s Movement which in its early days contributed to the scrapping of a Parliamentary bill to remove constitutional age limits (for judges, and potentially the president). She is a member of a number of youth activist groups in Kampala. She originally joined Solidarity Uganda while running one movement’s recruitment efforts which brought political prisoners on board by visiting them, bringing them basic necessities, and working for their release even where political parties, human rights agencies, and family members feared to step foot. While recently pregnant, she joined a women’s land rights caravan to Mt. Kilimanjaro. Under Scovia’s training and coaching, she’s been able to connect over 2,000 activists with movement-building training.

As we get more information, we will share more stories of these activists’ incredible work. Join us to make sure you don't miss these updates.

Activists have been challenging the upcoming vote on the Age Limit Bill in a campaign that has been growing and widespread throughout the country for months. The arrests come ahead of current President Museveni's Monday plans to pass the Age Limit Bill, which would be a blank check for a life term for Musveni, who has held that position since 1986. The bill would overturn a constitutional amendment stating that no president can be elected if they are over the age of 75 years.

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