Activist Praise Aloikin granted bail after more than two weeks on remand

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Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court has granted human rights defender and lawyer Praise Aloikin Opoloje bail of Shs500,000 in non-cash terms after finding her sureties substantial.

Senior Principal Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko granted the 27-year-old activist bail on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, after considering her application and finding that the sureties she presented were substantial.

The magistrate also granted Opoloje’s three sureties, who are her friends, non-cash bonds of Shs1 million each.

The sureties are Mr Spire Ssentongo, Ms Mercy Mundulu and Mr Adrian Juuko.

As part of her bail conditions, Opoloje was ordered to deposit her passport with the court and barred from travelling outside the country without the court’s permission.

Her release on bail comes after she spent more than two weeks on remand over allegations that she unlawfully used a SIM card registered in another person’s name.

Opoloje was arrested over the weekend of September 26 and appeared before the same court on September 28, when she denied the charge of using another person’s SIM card, contrary to Regulation 29 of the Regulation of Interception of Communications Regulations, 2024.

According to the charge sheet, the prosecution alleges that during September 2026, at Rubaga and Kampala Central divisions in Kampala District, Opoloje unlawfully used an MTN mobile phone number registered in the name of Martha Nalapa Tasima to execute an illegal activity.

At her first court appearance, state prosecutor Allan Mucunguzi informed the court that investigations were still ongoing and requested an adjournment to allow the prosecution to upload the necessary documents onto the Electronic Court Case Management Information System (ECCMIS).

Opoloje was subsequently remanded until October 14, when she returned to court and secured bail.

Her arrest sparked public concern, with fellow activists and human rights defenders questioning the circumstances surrounding her detention.

According to civic organisation Agora Discourse, Opoloje had been summoned to Namungoona Police Station before allegedly being handed over to officers believed to belong to Defence Intelligence and Security (DIS), formerly the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).

The officers reportedly drove her away in a vehicle with registration number UA875AC.

Her detention followed a video she had posted online criticising Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of President Yoweri Museveni, alongside commentary about the leadership of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU).

The incident prompted condemnation from human rights advocates, who questioned the role of the police in her arrest and subsequent transfer.

In a joint statement issued on September 27, lawyers and activists, including Eron Kiiza, Sarah Kasande, Phillip Karugaba and Andrew Karamagi, described the alleged handover as state-facilitated collusion.

“A police station is not a holding pen for handover to armed men who identify neither themselves nor their authority,” the advocates stated, arguing that public commentary is protected under Article 29 of the Constitution.

Opposition leader and National Unity Platform president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alongside other activists and civil society groups, also called for her release through the online campaign #FreePraiseAloikin.

Opoloje is a resident of Namungoona in Rubaga Division and has been involved in civic engagement and anti-corruption advocacy.

In July 2024, she participated in organising the March to Parliament demonstrations demanding fiscal accountability. She was later arrested in September 2024 during protests over government negligence following the fatal Kiteezi landfill collapse.

In recognition of her human rights work, Opoloje received the 2025 European Union Human Rights Defenders Award and was previously named a finalist for the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.

The trial magistrate adjourned the matter to November 19 for mention.

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The alleged offences are said to have occurred in Kampala between February and September 2026