By Ex-Supreme Court Justice Esther Kitimbo Kisaakye has publicly revealed she fled Uganda after facing persecution and death threats following her dissent in the 2021 presidential election petition. Her disclosure comes as the country enters the campaign season for the 2026 polls a period already marred by reports of police brutality against opposition supporters.
In a statement on her X platform, Justice Kisaakye said she endured a “coordinated witch-hunt,” intimidation, and denial of justice for over four years. She said her only offence was defending judicial independence and acting according to her oath.
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Her resignation from the bench and subsequent departure came in the wake of a controversial incident in March 2021, when she attempted to deliver a lone dissenting ruling in the election petition filed by opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine). She accused the Chief Justice Owiny Dollo of ordering court staff to confiscate her ruling and shutting down the courtroom before she could read it out. The dramatic standoff triggered disciplinary proceedings against her widely viewed by legal observers as retribution for upholding an independent verdict.
Her disclosure comes days after broader political landscape has started registering a surge in violent confrontations between security forces and NUP supporters. Campaign rallies and processions have increasingly ended in mass arrests, the use of tear gas, police dogs, water cannons, and in some instances live bullets.
During a recent rally in Kawempe, multiple videos captured police officers deploying dogs against civilians and firing tear gas canisters near children, commuters, and roadside vendors. Civil-rights watchdogs and the Uganda Law Society (ULS) condemned the tactics as a flagrant breach of the constitutional right to peaceful assembly.
In one dramatic episode in Kayunga District, police reportedly fired live bullets and used water cannons to block entry of supporters to a rally venue injuring at least one person.
The mounting repression has fuelled concern among civil society groups and political commentators that the state may be using the security apparatus to suppress dissent and shape election outcomes. The 2025 edition of the country-ranking watchdog Freedom House described Uganda as one where “intimidation, state violence, and harassment of opposition supporters remain systemic.”
For Justice Kisaakye, these developments vindicate her warnings: if even a Supreme Court justice visible and protected under law can be victimised for doing her duty, ordinary Ugandans living in the shadows stand even greater risk. In her words: “If such injustice can be inflicted on me openly, with impunity, and in broad daylight what then is happening to ordinary Ugandans who lack visibility and protection?”
Her revelations come at a critical moment, as eight presidential candidates, including Kyagulanyi, begin nationwide campaigns under the watch of the Electoral Commission of Uganda (EC). The mood across the country is tense with heightened fears that electoral competition could spiral into large-scale human rights abuses if the security response continues unchecked.
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