Ugandan Court Jails Three for Naked Anti-graft Protest

Monday September 02 2024

Three young activists in the dock at Buganda Road Chief Magistrate's where they were charged with being common nuisance and remanded to Luzira Prison after staging a half naked protest near Uganda Parliament on September 2, 2024. Juliet Kigongo | Monitor, NMG

Summary

Norah Kobusingye, Praise Aloikin Opoloje and Kemitoma Kyenzibo  appeared before the Chief Magistrate, Mr Ronald Kayiizi who remanded them until September 12 on charges of being common nuisance contrary to section 148(1) of the Penal Code Act. 

By Daily Monitor

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 protestors, Norah Kobusingye, Praise Aloikin Opoloje, and Kemitoma Kyenzibo, were demonstrating against Speaker Anita Among, demanding her resignation.

Appearing before Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayiizi, the trio was charged with being a common nuisance, as per Section 148(1) of the Penal Code Act. They denied the charges but were remanded after failing to provide substantial sureties for bail.

The chief magistrate noted that it was not possible to adjourn the case to the following day as was requested by the protestors’ lawyer Paul Wasswa to enable him prepare sureties for his clients.

“It is late and I have been the only judicial officer who has worked today at Buganda Road Court because others have gone for a two-day training. It is not possible for me to have the matter adjourned to tomorrow,” said Mr Kayiizi.

He set the next hearing for September 12.

The prosecution, led by Ivan Kyazze, informed the court that investigations were complete. According to the charge sheet, the state alleges that on September 2, 2024, Kobusingye, Aloikin, and Kyenzibo, along with others still at large, conducted a half-naked procession on Parliamentary Avenue, Central Division in Kampala. The protestors, with anti-corruption messages painted on their bodies, allegedly caused public annoyance and obstruction.

The youthful protestors, identifying as ‘Uganda Freedom Activists’, had their breasts painted in the colours of the Ugandan flag and carried placards condemning corruption. They specifically called for the resignation of Speaker Among, who has been widely accused of corruption and is currently facing travel bans from the UK and the US.

The protestors were intercepted by security officers, including plainclothes personnel, as they marched through the streets near Parliament. They also criticised the government for its slow response to the victims of the August 10 Kiteezi landfill disaster, where 35 bodies were recovered, and several others remained missing after the collapse of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) dumpsite.

Before their arrest, the demonstrators demanded an audit of the earnings and lifestyles of Ugandan lawmakers and accountability from KCCA regarding the landfill tragedy. They described their nude protest as a “symbolic act to denounce unchecked rampant misuse of public resources” by corrupt officials.

Under the leadership of Speaker Among and her deputy, Thomas Tayebwa, Parliament has faced growing public criticism, with social media-fuelled protests since July calling for her resignation. In response, security forces in Kampala have violently suppressed youth-led anti-corruption demonstrations, which President Yoweri Museveni, 79, has dismissed as “foreign-funded attempts to destabilise Uganda,” a country he has ruled since 1986 following a five-year guerilla war.

The protest movement has drawn inspiration from Gen Z-led protests in neighbouring Kenya, which have gained momentum via the microblogging app X (formerly Twitter).

Additionally, the August 10 Kiteezi landfill disaster, which buried residents and livestock under mountains of garbage, has sparked nationwide outrage. Despite repeated warnings about the landfill’s instability, authorities failed to take action until it was too late.