The Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) has strongly rejected what it describes as a “persistent false narrative” suggesting that the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy is influenced by President Museveni’s political interests.
Addressing journalists during the weekly security press briefing at Police Headquarters in Naguru on Monday, UPS spokesperson Frank Baine said the public must stop politicising a constitutional and humanitarian process.
“Pardoning prisoners is not politics,” Baine emphasized. “It is a constitutional mandate exercised strictly through established procedures, and any claims that it serves political motivations are simply false.”
Baine explained that the Prerogative of Mercy, provided for under Article 121 of the 1995 Constitution, allows the President—upon the guidance of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy—to grant pardons, respite, remission or substitution of sentences to convicted persons.
He detailed that the process involves rigorous checks at every level, beginning at the prison station, followed by verification by the Commissioner General of Prisons, before files are submitted to the Advisory Committee. The President only acts after receiving its recommendations.
“Every case is assessed based on conduct, remorse, vulnerability, health, age, and reintegration potential,” Baine noted. “There is no room for political considerations in this system.”
Between 2020 and 2025, a total of 1,798 convicted inmates benefited from presidential clemency—falling under three categories: capital offenders, petty offenders, and special humanitarian cases.
Baine further stressed that the prerogative applies only to convicted prisoners, not remands.
“It is a constitutional, controlled and humanitarian tool meant to promote justice, rehabilitation and managed decongestion of prisons,” he said. “Its purpose is not political advantage, but compassion guided by law.”
During the briefing, UPS also released its current inmate and staff statistics. As of December 8, 2025, Uganda’s prison population stands at:
42,458 convicts
36,485 remands
710 debtors
287 children staying with their incarcerated mothers
This brings the total prison population to 79,653 inmates housed across 269 prison units. UPS currently has 14,902 staff.
Baine reaffirmed that, despite the high inmate numbers, the Uganda Prisons Service remains committed to professionalism, rehabilitation and transparency in all its operations.
