Unverified: There Are No Credible Reports Pointing To The Arrest Of Sky News Journalist Yousra Elbagir While In Uganda

All research results about the claim show sources that aren’t presenting real evidence and details of the incident. Sky news did not report about it either. 

Uganda’s recently concluded elections have been described as contentious, with reports of both verified here, here, and  here and unverified violations circulating online. 

Among these claims was an allegation on X, formerly Twitter, that Ugandan authorities had arrested a Sky News correspondent and journalist, Yousra Elbagir.

 The post, shared on January 17, 2026, at 11:25 AM, read: “This Sky News journalist, YOUSRA ELBAGIR, has been arrested by Ugandan police for filming the security operatives who were killing and abducting innocent Ugandans.”

When we ran this claim as a prompt in the Info Verifier, the results showed that there is no verified evidence confirming that Elbagir was arrested by Ugandan police. 

Kenya News Now on Facebook reiterated that Elbagir had been arrested, along with her camera crew. 

“UPDATE: Uganda Police Arrested and Expelled Sky News Reporter, Yousra Elbagir, for filming them in trigger ‘action’. Bulletproof-clad Sky News African Correspondent Yousra Elbagir and her entire crew were arrested for filming Uganda police and military forces caught on camera beating up Bobi Wine supporters,” reads part of the Facebook post, whereas Jamiiforums reported about it, saying, “Mwandishi wa Sky News anayehusika na masuala ya Afrika, Yousra Elbagir, pamoja na timu yake, wamekamatwa na vyombo vya usalama vya Uganda baada ya kunaswa wakirekodi askari wa polisi na jeshi wakipiga na kuwatesa wafuasi wa kiongozi wa upinzani Bobi Wine.”

Translating to: “Sky News reporter who deals with African affairs, Yousra Elbagir, along with his team, have been arrested by Ugandan security agencies after they were caught filming police and army officers beating and torturing supporters of opposition leader Bobi Wine.”

The Facts

Yousra Elbagira is a journalist with Sky News and was in Uganda covering the recently concluded general elections.

During her assignment, she conducted interviews and reported on the election, as seen here, here, about the internet shutdown and the National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu here and here.

While there have been reports of arrests and abductions in Kampala by BBC, Daily Monitor here, here, Nile Post, and other parts of the country during the election period, there is no verified evidence that Elbagir was arrested by Ugandan authorities.

The evidence

A Google search with key words like “This Sky News journalist YOUSRA ELBAGIR has been arrested by Ugandan police” and “Sky News journalist arrested in Uganda” was made, and results revealed mixed content, like some supporting the claim, here, here, here, and others questioning it, as seen here.

We also noticed that there were no credible media outlets that reported on the matter.

Elbagir continued to publish reports and appear in Sky News coverage after the period in question, further contradicting claims that she had been detained. 

Between the 17th of January 2026, when the claim was made, and the 19th, when we continue to see her reports appearing on Sky News’ page, it is unverified whether she was indeed arrested or detained and later released. But what’s true for sure is that there is no police or Sky News report on that matter. 

After going through Sky News’ X account, there was no report made about their correspondent being arrested. However, in 2013, when one of their correspondents in Asia was arrested along with the camera crew in China, they reported on it. 

We also checked the police official communication accounts X and YouTube between January 17 and 19 to monitor any communication about the journalist’s arrest during the security briefing but there was no communication of that sort made.

 Verdict

UnverifiedThere is no credible evidence that Sky News journalist Elbagir was not arrested in Uganda. The claim appears to be based on unverified social media posts rather than factual reporting.

This fact-check was produced by NAMAJJA ELIZABETH with support from the Debunk Media Initiative and BBC Media Action.