Women politicians face tech-facilitated violence in Uganda’s 2026 elections

AI-generated images, gendered disinformation, and harmful narratives were used to target Ugandan women politicians

Originally published on Global Voices

Since gaining independence from the UK in October 1962, Ugandan women have played a critical role in shaping politics and governance throughout the country. From Joyce Mpanga, who served as Minister of Women in Development from 1988 to 1989, to Winnie Byanyima, who played a critical role in framing the 1995 Ugandan Constitution, women have shaped the political and governance landscape in Uganda, paving the way for countless young girls and women.

The 1995 Constitution introduced affirmative action. Article 21 of the Ugandan Constitution reserves one-third of local government seats and parliamentary positions for women, ensuring their active participation in the country’s decision-making processes. 

In January 2026, Uganda held its general elections, and several women ran as candidates. However, women campaigners have to worry about more than giving speeches and rallying voters — they also have to navigate online violence that manifested as deepfakes, AI-generated images, gendered disinformation, and harmful narratives that were weaponised to target Ugandan women politicians during this year’s election.

Recent attacks on Ugandan women in politics

Nawaya Gloria, a human rights lawyer, Global HIV advocate, and an aspiring youth Member of Parliament (MP) for the Central region in Uganda, found herself in an online battlefield of misogynistic attacks. She tweeted about her intention to contest for the Youth MP seat:

I am going to be the first HIV-positive living young person to represent Youth Voices in Parliament.

Nawaya says that she was born with HIV through mother-to-child transmission and that when she was growing up, she was hopeless, but later used her story to champion the rights of persons living with HIV.

This tweet, meant to inspire, was instead met with harsh comments and attacks from even “respected” people in Ugandan social circles. A former Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, the first and largest University in Uganda, quoted the tweet and said:

Knowing that we shall have so many horny MPs in parliament, I pray for you not to go through. https://t.co/GpGE6uvoSr

— Prof. V Baryamureeba (@baryamureeba) November 12, 2025

This was promoting the narrative that young women seek parliamentary positions just to have sex with male members of parliament.

Nawaya responded with a picture of herself saying, “I am sending a smile to Professor Vernacious Baramureeba, and I want to let you know that I am not going to parliament to sleep around but rather to create change…”

In response, he doubled down on his attacks. “Nobody is stigmatizing you. All we are saying is stop using your HIV status as a vote card. Youth should vote for you on merit.”

Nawaya was not the only one targeted; One post insulted another woman politician from the National Unity Platform party, Joyce Bagala: “Meet Joyce Bagala, who chose susu over her party.” In this context, the primary meaning of the word “susu” in Luganda is “urine,” but it also suggests that she chose to sleep around and abandon her party. Another implied she was the mistress of the Democratic Front party leader, Mathias Mpuuga. It is Joyce’s right to back whoever she wants to back, and the violent attacks on her agency play into the patriarchal handbook that women are prostitutes because of the choices that they make.

Yvonne Mpambara, who was an aspiring presidential candidate for the 2026 elections, also wrote about how she was harassed online:

I faced online harassment where men constantly called me ‘the makeup president incapable of leading anyone’ … I was accused of being a Rwandan spy who was sleeping with (Rwandan) President Kagame and trying to destabilize the Ugandan government.

AI-generated deepfakes and disinformation

An AI-generated image on TikTok claimed that Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, the former speaker of the Ugandan parliament, had been airlifted to Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi. This was a completely fake story, but most commentators wished the former speaker a quick recovery, without noticing that the photos were doctored.

The former speaker responded to the rumors: 

Stop spreading rumors am actually seated in my home, have not been anywhere near Agha Khan Hospital https://t.co/Y6m1QvwYAP

— Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga (@RebeccaKadagaUG) December 19, 2025

The misogyny has been widespread across parties, even those that were seeking to dethrone the 40-year presidency of President Yoweri Museveni. AI-generated Deepfakes by opposition members about Anita Among, the current speaker of parliament, spreading “hate speech,” are circulating on TikTok. Additionally, National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters began attacking one of their own members who had defected to the breakaway party, the “Democratic Front.” YouTuber, Dean Lubowa Sava, reportedly said, “Joyce Bagala must give sex to NUP top boss who thinks she gave it to Matthias Mpuuga or else she should forget about NUP reconciliation.” Mpuuga is the founder of the Democratic Front. 

Technology is amplifying Gender Based Violence

Violence against women has always existed in Uganda; technology has just amplified it. A UN Women report mentioned that 95 percent of Ugandan women had experienced physical and/or sexual violence, according to the Ugandan Bureau of Statistics. The findings revealed that 49 percent of citizens say violence against women and girls is a common occurrence in their community. Meanwhile, 62 percent see domestic violence as a private matter to be resolved within the family rather than a criminal matter requiring the involvement of law enforcement. A majority, 54 percent, say it is likely that a woman who reports gender-based violence (GBV) to the authorities will be criticized, harassed, or shamed by others in the community.

There is no specific law that is specific to tech-facilitated gender-based violence. While the law that is supposed to protect women online is the Computer Misuse Act 2011, before it was amended, it has instead been used to attack feminist dissenters like Stella Nyanzi. 

Therefore, as Uganda grapples with its political future, it is clear that women in Uganda have a long way to go in breaking barriers that hinder political participation, and that tech-facilitated violence against women is another tactic that serves to silence women.