Ahead of election, Uganda's security forces are accused of using violence

Tension continues to build in Uganda ahead of next week's presidential elections.

Ugandan authorities have detained opposition leaders and a key civic leader, accusing her of illegally obtaining access to the national voters’ registry.

Critics say the criminal charges against Sarah Bireete are politically motivated and really provoked by her work as a public commentator who is often critical of the government of President Yoweri Museveni, who is seeking a seventh term in presidential elections set for Jan. 15.

Bireete had spoken to The Associated Press in December before she was arrested, saying in the interview that Museveni’s Uganda was “a military dictatorship” pretending to be a democracy.

Bireete is the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Governance, a non-governmental organization in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.

"The evidence is out for everyone to see that indeed Uganda can no longer claim to be a constitutional democracy and that is what we are witnessing – family rule, power held between the father, brother and son, and the rest of the government officials being mere figure heads," she said.

Museveni’s main opponent in the upcoming elections is the musician-turned-politician known as Bobi Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.

Bireete said in December that the military had "hijacked" Wine's security detail and arrested key members of his inner circle, what she described as "targeted lawfare."

The authoritarian Museveni has held power in the east African country since 1986 by repeatedly rewriting the rules. Term and age limits have been scrapped, rivals jailed or sidelined, and state security forces are a constant presence at opposition rallies.

But, in December, Bireete was hopeful that these elections could signal change.

"The citizens have made it a real contest, and when you analyze data, districts with the highest voter populations are all in favor of opposition and change," she said.