The Ugandan government has ordered the arrest of citizens allegedly captured in a KTN exposé crossing into Kenya to register as voters ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Speaking during a media briefing on Uganda’s security situation on Wednesday, October 7, First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga instructed authorities in districts bordering Kenya to stop Ugandans from crossing into the neighbouring country for political or electoral activities.
Officials in Bukwa, Moroto, Amudat, Namisindwa, Busia, Tororo, Namayingo and Buikwe were directed to closely monitor movements across the border and prevent any suspected involvement in Kenya’s electoral processes.
“We are instructing the state agencies and local leaders in the following districts to take a keen and coordinated interest in this matter. We should ensure that Ugandan citizens within those boundaries are not crossing to Kenya or otherwise involving themselves in political or electoral activities,” Kadaga stated.
Kadaga said Uganda respects Kenya’s sovereignty and expects the same from Nairobi, particularly regarding each country’s democratic and electoral processes.
“As a country, we respect the sovereignty of Kenya, and we also expect them to respect our sovereignty and the democratic processes going on in each country. So it's not proper and contrary to good and bad in this; for Uganda, it's institutions to participate in electoral affairs of another sovereign state,” she stated.
The minister said Ugandan institutions should not interfere in the electoral affairs of another country, while distancing the Ugandan government from allegations linked to the reported voter registration activities.
Kadaga, who also serves as the Minister of the East African Community (EAC), also addressed concerns over dual citizenship, stating that Ugandans cannot simultaneously maintain allegiance to Uganda and Kenya under the existing EAC arrangements.
“You cannot vote both in Kenya and Uganda. So either you relinquish one and take another. You cannot be both. You cannot have allegiance to two countries,” Kadaga said.
Her remarks came after a KTN News investigation aired in late September, alleging that Ugandan nationals were obtaining Kenyan identification documents and registering as voters ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The investigation centred on the Suam border area, where the report alleged that voter registration materials were being transported across the Kenya-Uganda border.
The exposé further claimed that a Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officer intercepted a vehicle carrying election-related materials on April 18 before allegedly being transferred to Nairobi.
The DCI subsequently rejected the allegations, saying its officers did not intercept the vehicle, question its occupants, seize election materials or transfer an officer in connection with the incident.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) also dismissed allegations of illegal voter registration and voter transfers, as well as claims involving the registration of foreign nationals and the use of deceased persons’ data in preparations for the 2027 election.
