In a significant and controversial ruling, the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kampala has remanded three anti-corruption activists to Luzira prison following their arrest for staging a nude protest at Parliament. The demonstrators, identified as Norah Kobusingye, Praise Aloikin Opoloje, and Kemitoma Kyenzibo, were protesting against Speaker Anita Among, demanding her immediate resignation amid widespread allegations of corruption.
The trio appeared before Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayiizi, where they were charged with being a common nuisance under Section 148(1) of the Penal Code Act. Despite denying the charges, they were remanded to prison after failing to provide substantial sureties necessary for bail. Magistrate Kayiizi declined the request from the defense lawyer, Paul Wasswa, to adjourn the case to the following day to allow time for preparing bail sureties. “It is late, and I have been the only judicial officer working today at Buganda Road Court because others are attending a two-day training. It is not possible for me to have the matter adjourned to tomorrow,” Kayiizi stated.
The next hearing has been scheduled for September 12, 2024.
Prosecutor Ivan Kyazze informed the court that investigations into the matter were complete. The charge sheet presented by the state alleges that on September 2, 2024, Kobusingye, Aloikin, and Kyenzibo, along with others still at large, participated in a half-naked protest on Parliamentary Avenue in Kampala’s Central Division. The protestors, with anti-corruption messages boldly painted on their bodies, reportedly caused public annoyance and obstructed the flow of traffic.
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The youthful activists, who identify as members of the ‘Uganda Freedom Activists’ group, carried out their protest with their bodies painted in the colors of the Ugandan flag. They held placards demanding an end to corruption and specifically called for Speaker Among’s resignation. Among has been the focus of mounting criticism due to corruption allegations and is currently facing travel bans imposed by both the United Kingdom and the United States.
The protestors were intercepted by a mix of uniformed and plainclothes security officers as they marched near Parliament. In addition to denouncing corruption, the demonstrators voiced their discontent with the government’s inadequate response to the victims of the August 10 Kiteezi landfill disaster, where 35 bodies were recovered, and several more remained missing following the collapse of a Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) dumpsite.
Before their arrest, the activists demanded a comprehensive audit of the earnings and lifestyles of Ugandan lawmakers, as well as accountability from KCCA regarding the landfill tragedy. They described their nude protest as a symbolic act intended to highlight the rampant misuse of public resources by corrupt officials.
Under the leadership of Speaker Among and her deputy, Thomas Tayebwa, the Ugandan Parliament has faced increasing public criticism. Since July, social media-fueled protests have called for Among’s resignation, with the Ugandan government responding by violently suppressing youth-led anti-corruption demonstrations. President Yoweri Museveni, 79, who has ruled Uganda since 1986 after leading a five-year guerilla war, dismissed these protests as “foreign-funded attempts to destabilize Uganda.”
The protest movement in Uganda has drawn inspiration from similar Gen Z-led protests in neighboring Kenya, which have gained significant momentum on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter). The August 10 Kiteezi landfill disaster, which buried both residents and livestock under massive piles of garbage, has further fueled nationwide outrage, with many criticizing the authorities for their failure to address warnings about the landfill’s instability until it was too late.
