The Luzira Chief Magistrates Court has remanded former Minister for Ethics and Integrity Miria Matembe to Luzira Prison on charges of promoting sectarianism. The 73-year-old appeared before Grade One Magistrate Sheilah Gloria Atim on Tuesday evening and was remanded until Wednesday, July 1, 2026, when the court is expected to hear her bail application.
According to the prosecution, during June 2026 at Nakawa Division in Kampala, Matembe allegedly made statements on DK TV Uganda to the effect that “all our taxes are being spent on the Banyankole women ministers.” Prosecutors contend that the remarks were likely to promote hostility, hatred, or ill will against members of the Banyankole ethnic group.
Matembe denied the charge and entered a plea of not guilty. She asked the court to grant her bail, citing her poor health. However, the magistrate declined to consider the request because no formal bail application had been filed electronically, in line with the judiciary’s current procedures governing bail applications.
Addressing the court, Matembe said she was unwell and had only managed to attend the proceedings with assistance from friends and security personnel because she was experiencing severe back pain.
Matembe’s lawyers, who included Uganda Law Society (Vice President Anthony Asiimwe together with lawyers Samuel Muyizzi Mulindwa and Steven Kalali, sought to have her released on bail after she had personally asked to be released temporarily. The lawyers argued that Matembe was sickly and required urgent medical attention.
However, Magistrate Atim declined to entertain the application, noting that the defence had not presented any medical evidence to substantiate claims that the former minister was ill. Atim also noted that it was too late this evening for her to hear and determine the bail application
She walked with difficulty as she entered the courtroom. Senior State Attorney Mariam Kulusum informed the court that investigations into the case are still ongoing. The prosecution did not object to Matembe receiving medical treatment under prison security if necessary. Matembe reportedly went missing last week, a day after security personnel raided her home in Luzira in an attempt to arrest her. She was not at the residence during the operation.
Sources later told Uganda Radio Network that she was arrested at a hotel along Gayaza Road, where she had allegedly been staying. Over the weekend, Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba posted on social media platform X that Matembe had been arrested for “impersonation.” However, the charge presented before court on Tuesday was promoting sectarianism.
Matembe, a former Member of Parliament and one of the delegates who participated in drafting Uganda’s 1995 Constitution, remains on remand at Luzira Prison until her scheduled court appearance on Wednesday-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
