Three women, Praise Aloikin, Norah Kobusingye, and Kemitoma Kyenzibo, have been remanded to Luzira prison for enactment of a nude protest at parliament.
The trio, with their bodies painted in Uganda’s national colors and bearing inscriptions, called for the speaker’s resignation over corruption allegations.
They have appeared before the Buganda Road Court presided over by the Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayiizi who charged them with causing public inconvenience and annoyance.
Despite being granted a chance to apply for bail, their lawyer, Paul Wasswa, stated that they lacked sufficient sureties.
The magistrate declined to release them on their own cognizance, and they were remanded until September 12th for a bail hearing.
The charge sheet presented by the state Ivan Kyazze alleges that Kobusinye, Aloikin, and Kyenzibo, along with other individuals still at large, engaged in an unauthorized procession on September 2, 2024, at Parliamentary Avenue in Kampala. During the procession, they appeared half-naked with writings on their bodies, causing disruption and hindering the public’s ability to exercise their common rights, thereby committing an act that is not permitted by law.
Prior to their detention on Monday , the trio bare-chested and adorned with the colors of the Ugandan flag on their breasts, brandished signs decrying corruption and calling for the ouster of Parliament Speaker Anita Among.
The protesters, who identified themselves as “Uganda Freedom Activists,” staged a march near the country’s legislative building before being quickly apprehended by security personnel, including plainclothes officers, shortly after noon.
As they approached the parliament building, the demonstrators were heard demanding a probe into the income and lifestyles of Ugandan lawmakers, as well as accountability from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), in the wake of the Kiteezi dumpsite collapse that claimed at least 35 lives last month.
The protesters also asserted that their nudity was a symbolic gesture to condemn the unchecked abuse of public resources.
In a bold display of activism, the young women, with their breasts painted in the colors of the Ugandan flag, took to the streets to voice their discontent with corruption and demand transparency and accountability from those in power.
