At least 4 nude anti-corruption protestors arrested, demand Speaker Among's resignation
Activists carry placards as they shout slogans outside Uganda’s Parliament on September 02, 2024 during a protest against the continued corruption and lack of what they described as government help for the victims of the August 10 Kiteezi landfill collapse that left 35 Ugandans dead and several missing. PHOTO/ ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- Under Speaker Anita Among, parliament has growingly come under public criticism with social media mobilized protests -since July- demanding her resignation.
Security officers Monday afternoon arrested about four nude anti-corruption protestors near parliament, eyewitnesses said.
Before they were held, the braless young adult female protestors, who appeared almost totally naked- and their breasts painted with colors of the Ugandan flag, held placards condemning corruption and demanding the resignation of Parliament Speaker Anita Among.
The protestors identifying as "Uganda Freedom Activists" marched on streets near Uganda's legislative assembly before they were swiftly intercepted shortly after midday by security officers, including non-uniformed people.
Closer to parliament, the demonstrators had been heard appealing for an audit over earnings and lifestyles of Ugandan lawmakers as well as accountability from Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), following the Kiteezi dumpsite collapse which killed at least 35 people last month.
Police officers arrest activists outside Uganda’s Parliament September 02, 2024 as they demonstrated against the continued corruption and lack of government support for the victims of the August 10 Kiteezi landfill collapse. PHOTO/ ISAAC KASAMANI
Additionally, they said nude protesting was "symbolic to denounce unchecked rampant misuse of public resources."
Under Among, parliament has growingly come under public criticism with social media mobilized protests -since July- demanding her resignation.
Between late July and early August 2024, security forces in Kampala foiled planned youth-led anti-corruption March to Parliament protests which President Museveni said were “foreign funded to disrupt Uganda."
The demonstrations had been largely encouraged via microblogging app X, with their remote organizers seeking to emulate Gen Z led protests in neighbouring Kenya.
Separately, there was nationwide anger in the aftermath of an August 10 garbage landslide where mountains of rubbish buried people, livestock and dozens of homesteads at the Kiteezi landfill in Wakiso District, which is run by KCCA.
