New study reveals most trusted institutions in Uganda

A new study has established a significant increase in trust in key public institutions by majorities of Ugandans, ranging from the national army, police, courts of law and the president.

Trust levels for most institutions gained strength in the study, gaining or exceeding levels recorded a decade ago. 

Religious leaders command the highest public trust in Uganda, ahead of the president, the army and Parliament, according to the study by Afrobarometer

The findings place opposition political parties at the bottom of the rankings. 

The Electoral Commission also falls short of winning the confidence of half the population.

Some 85 per cent of respondents said they trusted religious leaders “somewhat” or “a lot”. The president and the Ministry of Health followed at 77 per cent each.

Non-governmental organisations and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) tied at 73 per cent.

The report draws on interviews with 3,000 adult Ugandans in January 2025. Hatchile Consult Ltd led the nationally representative survey, which has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points at a 95 per cent confidence level.

The ruling National Resistance Movement attracted the trust of 69 per cent of respondents, ahead of traditional leaders at 66 per cent.

Courts scored 60 per cent, police 59 per cent, and city or district councils 57 per cent. Parliament followed at 55 per cent.

The Electoral Commission registered 48 per cent, while opposition parties scored 35 per cent.

Half of respondents said they trusted the Electoral Commission “just a little” or “not at all”. That share rose to 62 per cent for opposition parties.

The study found that several public institutions recovered ground after earlier declines.

Trust in President Yoweri Museveni rose by 13 percentage points, from 64 per cent in 2024 to 77 per cent in 2025. That brought his rating close to the 79 per cent recorded in 2015.

Parliament gained six percentage points from 2024, while local councils gained 10. Trust in the NRM rose by 14 points to 69 per cent, approaching its 71 per cent rating a decade earlier.

Confidence in the courts reached its highest level of the decade.

The national figures, however, conceal wide differences between communities.

Some 81 per cent of rural respondents trusted the president, compared with 68 per cent of urban residents.

Trust in Museveni stood at 84 per cent in each of the Northern, Eastern and Western regions. It fell to 63 per cent in Central Uganda and 58 per cent in Kampala, according to the report’s demographic chart.

Older respondents also showed greater confidence in the president. His rating rose from 72 per cent among those aged 18 to 30 to 86 per cent among those aged 61 and above.

Education revealed another divide. Presidential trust stood at 90 per cent among respondents with no formal education, compared with 66 per cent among those with post-secondary qualifications.

The army and police recorded similar geographical gaps. In rural areas, 76 per cent trusted the UPDF and 62 per cent trusted police. Among Kampala respondents, those figures fell to 50 per cent and 41 per cent respectively.

Religious leaders retained their lead despite a decline from 90 per cent in 2015. Traditional leaders’ rating also fell over the decade, from 72 per cent to 66 per cent.

The report further found that people who often obtained news through social media showed less trust in key institutions than infrequent users and non-users. 

That association does not establish that social media caused the lower trust.