After the A4C (Activists for Change) was banned [1]in Uganda earlier this month, the activists rebranded it “4GC”, which stands for “For God And My Country” (Uganda's official motto). The 4GC members including the leading opposition figure Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye, Mathias Mpuuga, Ingrid Turinawe and others have continued to stage rallies around the country. This time on Friday 20 April, 2012 the rally was at Nansana in Kampala.
The moment Ingrid Turinawe, the chairperson for Women League of the Forum for Democratic Change and one of key female politicians in Uganda, arrived at the venue of the rally, police officers came to arrest her. One of them intentionally held her right breast and started to press it. This made Ugandans react angrily after NTV Uganda ran a video footage [2] showing a police officer sexually assaulting her.
Image of Ingrid Turinawe being sexually asaulted. Courtesy of Uganda's Daily Monitor.
Ugandan Police spokesperson Ibn Ssenkumbi came out and denied the allegations saying that the arrest was conducted by a female police officer. This prompted NTV to show the video footage in a slow motion for the people to see clearly.
Following the incident, women activists stripped to their bras [3] in public showing anger and disapproval of police brutality against the female politician. Six of them ended up being arrested and detained.
Uganda's community on Twitter came out and reacted angrily about the incident:
@TusiimeSamson says:
@TusiimeSamson [4]: After watching the @ugandapf [5] vs #IngridTurinawe [6]do, i get this feeling that #EminBaro [7]‘s of this world wd want to join police.Pathetic sight.
@gabrieloguda thinks:
@dukedanny4 [8]: History indeed repeats itself. Suddenly we are going back to the 1970's and early 1980's #brutality#IngridTurinawe #Uganda
Women activists who stripped to their bras being arrested. Photo courtesy of urbanlegendkampala.com
@Ugandanet asks:
@ [9]Ugandanet [9]: If they can do that to Ingrid Turinawe in public, imagine what they do to other women when no one's watching? #Uganda #IngridTurinawe
@pmagelah tells the Ugandan police that:
@pmagelah [10] Let @ugandaupf stop using excuse that those who arrested #IngridTurinawe were women, it wont change a thing, it remains sexual violence
@IsNyaga belives police brutality has made Ingrid a presidential material:
@IsNyaga [11]: #dearMuseveni [12] you just made #ingridturinawe a presidential candidate.
@pmagelah requests for the arrest of the officer who assaulted Ingrid:
@pmagelah [13]: Indecent Assault of a woman is a crime. Uganda Police must arrest &charge their officer who assualted #Ingrid#Turinawe#StopUgandaPolice
@joydoreenbiira tweets about the suspension [14] of the police officer who asaulted Ingrid:
@joydoreenbiira [15]: The #UgandaPoliceOfficer who assaulted#IngridTurinawe has been suspended over the alleged sexual assault; i need proof of this#CldBeVerbal
Opposition leaders and their supporters have been staging public rallies and protest in Uganda since 2011. Inspired by revolutions in North Africa, Uganda’s opposition groups staged protests [16] against high fuel and food prices, calling on Ugandans in urban centers to walk to their work places.