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
Praise Aloikin Opoloje, 25, was among the youth protesters who joined the July 23 march to Parliament to shine a torch on allegations of corruption and wasteful spending.
She had hoped, at the time, that the demonstrations would force the authorities to recognise the seriousness of the claims labelled against the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, and by extension the entire Legislature.
But the protesters were quickly neutralised by the police, armed plain-clothed security personnel, and military police and more than 100 of the youth were arrested, charged in court, and sent to prison. The majority are currently out on bail.
But undeterred, Opoloje returned to the streets again on Monday and attempted to march to Parliament, half-naked. Norah Kobusingye, and Kemitoma Kyenzibo, who had also participated in the earlier March to Parliament, joined her.
The half-naked spectacle of a protest was again quickly foiled as the trio was once more arrested, taken to court, and remanded to Luzira Prison until September 12.
Following the developments, many activists have come out to condemn the actions of both the police and the court.
Speaking to Daily Monitor on Tuesday, activist George Otieno said as someone who also participated in the July 23 protest, he understood the stance of the women.
“From that time [July 23], nothing has been done [to address the allegations of corruption in Parliament] yet the issues raised were of real concern to the nation. The girls must have been disheartened and pushed to the wall [to stage a naked protest],” Otieno said.
The freedom of demonstration and speech is enshrined in Article 29 of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution. Article 29(1) (d) focuses on the freedom to assemble and to demonstrate together with others peacefully and unarmed and to petition for everyone.
It is because of this fundamental right that the chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), Ms Mariam Wangadya, said the demonstrators should have been left to undertake their civic duty.
“It is not even about what they intend to achieve, the message they wanted to deliver to the Speaker, but their right to deliver that message regardless of what it is…. They should be allowed to do so,” Wangadya said.
“However, if there are people who believe that by baring it all [going nude], having writings on their bodies to send the message across, from a human rights point of view, then, they should have the freedom to do that,” she added.
But Otieno said the government frequently violates the objectives of the Constitution by criminalising anyone who either dares to demonstrate or speak up against government, its officials or its affiliated activities.
Value of online activism
The recent street demonstrations by the youth have been said to be a boost to the online activism that has been taking centre stage in recent years.
The online activism, has in the recent months, been led predominantly by a team from the Agora Discourse, a digital public space that promotes public accountability, human rights, and social justice.
Agora Discourse has been spearheading exhibitions on social media spaces mostly on X, formerly Twitter.
The team that comprises Prof Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, a lecturer in philosophy, a cartoonist and columnist; and Agather Atuhaire, journalist, a social justice activist and lawyer; have jointly led exhibitions aimed at demanding accountability and transparency in government institutions as well as non-government organisations (NGOs).
Most notably, the team championed a ‘Parliament exhibition,’ on X, by exposing allegations of extensive corruption, extravagance, nepotism, and other maladministration in the 11th Parliament.
Whereas it is popularly held that doing activism online is somewhat safer because there are no physical confrontations involved, the users are often urged to use the spaces with caution following previous incidents where some activists have been pinned under the cyber law.
Published activists Stella Nyanzi and Kakwenza Rukirabashaija have both previously faced charges of offensive communication under the Computer Misuse Act, which among other things carries heavy penalties including jail time.
The duo, in their respective social media posts, was accused of insulting some members of the First Family. They now live in exile where they continue to be outspoken government critics.
