Obongi District RDC Issues Orders Arrest of Refugees Attempting to Vote in Elections.
By Okidi Patrick
OBONGI, UGANDA – December 3, 2026: The Obongi District Security Committee has imposed a strict directive to arrest any refugees attempting to vote in the upcoming Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Council elections, scheduled for December 2026. The resolution, issued by Regional District Coordinator (RDC) Samuel Mpimbaza Hashaka, chairperson of the district security committee, follows intelligence reports of unauthorized refugee registration in the electoral commission’s voter database.
The announcement was made during the graduation ceremony of 91 Ugandan and Sudanese refugees who completed a six-month skilling training program funded by the Stromme Foundation and Palm Corps. Hashaka warned that refugees found voting in the elections would face immediate arrest, prosecution, and potential imprisonment for at least 15 years.
The RDC revealed that investigations have identified corrupt practices, with some politicians allegedly registering refugees in Obongi Town Council, Itula, and Palorinya sub-counties to sway votes. “Those found complicit in this scandal will be dealt with accordingly,” he vowed.
“It is illegal for non-Ugandans to participate in our elections,” Hashaka emphasized, stating that the directive applies to all refugees in the district. He further ordered Uganda Police Force (OPM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to enforce the ban rigorously.
Obongi District, home to 60,000 Ugandans, hosts over 142,000 refugees in the Palorinya Refugee Resettlement Camp—the largest in the region. Hashaka disclosed that during parliamentary candidate nominations, an opposition candidate was reported to have chartered a bus to transport hundreds of refugees to Obongi town for a campaign event, abandoning them afterward. This, he argued, underscores the need for stringent oversight to prevent electoral fraud.
Elections in Uganda are tightly regulated, with only citizens eligible to vote. The electoral commission has launched a voter verification drive recently to eliminate ineligible names from its rolls, but the inclusion of refugees remains a contentious issue in Obongi.
As the country prepares for the 15th January, 2026 polls, the Obongi RDC’s hardline stance signals a zero-tolerance approach to irregularities, with Hashaka reaffirming: “The sanctity of our democracy cannot be compromised by ineligible participants.”
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