Religious Leaders, Museveni and army Rank Among Uganda’s Most trusted Institutions

By Skika Reporter.

Religious leaders, President Yoweri Museveni and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) have emerged as some of the most trusted institutions in Uganda, while opposition political parties and the Electoral Commission continue to struggle to win public confidence.

This is according to a new Afrobarometer survey, which shows that public trust in several government institutions has improved, with some registering significant gains compared to the previous decade.

The survey indicates that 85 per cent of Ugandans trust religious leaders either somewhat or a lot, placing them at the top of the list of the country’s most trusted institutions.

President Museveni and the Ministry of Health follow with 77 per cent trust each, while non-governmental organisations and the UPDF share 73 per cent.

The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) also enjoys considerable public confidence, with 69 per cent of respondents saying they trust the party. Traditional leaders follow at 66 per cent.

Courts of law registered 60 per cent, the police 59 per cent, while city and district councils received 57 per cent. Parliament recorded 55 per cent.

However, confidence declines significantly among political institutions outside government. The Electoral Commission received 48 per cent, meaning it failed to secure the confidence of half of the respondents, while opposition political parties ranked lowest at 35 per cent.

The findings further show that 50 per cent of respondents had little or no trust in the Electoral Commission, while the proportion increased to 62 per cent for opposition parties.

Improvement in public confidence

The study points to a recovery in public confidence in several institutions following earlier declines.

Trust in President Museveni increased by 13 percentage points, rising from 64 per cent in 2024 to 77 per cent in 2025. This brings his rating close to the 79 per cent recorded in 2015.

The NRM registered a 14-percentage-point improvement, reaching 69 per cent, compared to 55 per cent in 2024 and approaching its 71 per cent rating recorded a decade ago.

Parliament also gained six percentage points, while confidence in local government councils increased by 10 points.

The courts of law recorded their highest trust rating in the past decade, although the survey does not provide a specific percentage-point comparison for the institution.

Despite maintaining the highest rating, confidence in religious leaders has declined from 90 per cent in 2015 to 85 per cent in the latest survey.

Trust in traditional leaders has also dropped from 72 per cent to 66 per cent over the same period.

Rural and urban differences

The survey reveals significant differences in how Ugandans across geographical locations view public institutions, particularly the presidency and security agencies.

In rural communities, 81 per cent of respondents expressed trust in President Museveni, compared to 68 per cent among urban residents.

Regionally, presidential trust stood at 84 per cent in Eastern, Northern and Western Uganda. However, it dropped to 63 per cent in Central Uganda and 58 per cent in Kampala.

Age also influenced perceptions of the President, with trust increasing from 72 per cent among respondents aged between 18 and 30 years to 86 per cent among those aged 61 and above.

Education levels revealed another significant difference. Presidential trust was highest among respondents without formal education at 90 per cent, compared to 66 per cent among those with post-secondary qualifications.

Similar geographical differences were recorded for the security agencies.

In rural areas, 76 per cent of respondents expressed confidence in the UPDF, while 62 per cent trusted the police.

In Kampala, confidence in the army dropped to 50 per cent, while the police registered just 41 per cent.

Social media and institutional trust

The report also highlights a relationship between social media consumption and public confidence in institutions.

Respondents who frequently obtained their news through social media generally expressed lower trust in key public institutions compared to those who used social media less frequently or did not use it.

However, the findings do not establish that social media use directly causes declining confidence in public institutions.

The Afrobarometer study was conducted in January 2025 through face-to-face interviews with 3,000 adult Ugandans.

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.