Outrage After Ugandan Police Strip a Female Opposition Official Naked in Public · Global Voices
Prudence Nyamishana

A screenshot of YouTube video showing police officers arresting the opposition official.
An official from the leading Ugandan opposition party Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) was arrested and stripped naked in public by police after they had blocked the party’s leader, Dr. Kizza Besigye, on his way to hold a rally.
Zainab Fatuma, a National Executive Committee member and FDC secretary for environment, is seen in footage from the scene struggling against officers, who restrain her and tear off her clothes. “Why are you undressing me?” she shouts repeatedly in the video.
However, the Uganda police force have denied that the police stripped her, saying that Fatuma undressed herself.
Uganda's state security forces have routinely stripped naked women involved in peaceful protests against President Yoweri Museveni's increasingly intolerant approach to dissenting voices.
Reacting to the incident, a coalition of civic organisations in the country released a statement condemning the degrading treatment of women in active politics in Uganda:
The women’s movement, civic associations and women leagues of political parties and citizens who identify with adherence to the Constitution by all state institutions strongly condemn the use of degrading and dehumanizing acts by the Uganda Police Force which is mandated to provide law and order. These acts manifest as both a political tool to intimidate women’s leadership but also as a grave human rights abuse.
The incident and the police spin on it have angered many Ugandan citizens, prompting some to unite against police brutality by sending messages to the Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura using the hashtag #SomeoneTellKaihura.
Ugandan lawyer and activist Jacqueline Asiimwe tweeted:
The role of police is not to undress women, but to redress crime! #SomeoneTellKayihura
— Jacqueline Asiimwe (@asiimwe4justice) October 11, 2015
Godber Tumushabe, a lawyer and policy analyst, advised:
#SomeoneTellKayihura that brutalizing women won't save a dictatorship. Wait when they come 4 you. @shawnmubiru @TDAOfficial1 @ForwardUganda
— Godber Tumushabe (@GodberTumushabe) October 11, 2015
Bireete Sarah, a human rights activist, noted:
A regime that loses respect for women deserves no respect either #ImpunityUg #SomeoneTellKayihura #SomeoneFireIGP pic.twitter.com/HmkhIfCrBj
— Bireete Sarah (@SarahBireete) October 11, 2015
Elektrolyte pointed out that:
#SomeoneTellKayihura police is born of women. Those pictures are horrific. And the women are unarmed.
— Elektrolyte (@julimuffn) October 11, 2015
Jacqueline Asiimwe declared:
Violence against one of us is violence against all of us! When you undress one of us, you have undressed all of us! #SomeoneTellKayihura
— Jacqueline Asiimwe (@asiimwe4justice) October 11, 2015
Asiimwe Angella posted a photo showing a new dress code for women to avoid being stripped naked:
New women dress code in Uganda to avoid being undressed by the @ugandaupf #SomeoneTellKayihura #FreeUganda pic.twitter.com/6dIR05prh5
— asiimwe angella (@angellaasiimwe) October 13, 2015
Penelope Sanyu wondered:
If you could strip her in public i shudder to imagine what you do to the rest in the cells #SomeoneTellKayihura #SomeoneFireKayihura
— Penelope sanyu (@latagal) October 11, 2015
Reporting about a press conference held by the Uganda Law Society (ULS) to denounce police conduct, political reporter and news anchor for NTV Uganda, Sheila Nduhukire wrote:
ULS treats these events as unacceptable, unfortunate, unnecessary and outlandish – Ruth. #ULSPRESSER
— Sheila Nduhukire (@Snduhukire) October 12, 2015
The law society promised to collaborate with the public to identify the police officers:
“Our pro bono team is ready to work with the Public to identify these Policemen ” -Ruth #ULSPRESSER
— Sheila Nduhukire (@Snduhukire) October 12, 2015
President Yoweri Museveni's rule has been characterized by the enactment of repressive laws, the militarization of what should ideally be a civilian police force, the unabashed recruitment and training of militias by the regime, and the ever-present threat of a clampdown on electronic and print media outlets and suppression of opinions on social media. When taken together with this most recent incident, it seems that the 30-year-old regime is digging in and has no intention of advancing political and civil liberties.