Minister of State for Local Government Justine Nameere has called on Ugandans to back acid attack survivor Hanifa Nakiryowa’s fight for justice, 15 years after the attack that disfigured her.
In a video circulating on TikTok, Nameere, who is also the Woman MP for Masaka City, said Nakiryowa’s case remains unfinished because no one has been held to account.
“I stand here today, ladies and gentlemen, to beg you and appeal to you to stand with Hanifa,” she said.
The former television presenter said she was the first journalist to cover Nakiryowa’s story on NTV’s Life Stories about 15 years ago. She credited the coverage with connecting Nakiryowa to well-wishers who later flew her to the United States for facial reconstruction and supported her education, rehabilitation and her children’s schooling.
But one thing, Nameere said, has never been settled: justice.
The Director of Public Prosecutions charged Nakiryowa’s then husband, Makerere University lecturer Dr Faisal Buyinza, with attempted murder after the 2011 attack. “But after some time, the case was discontinued,” Nameere said.
Appeal to Museveni
Nameere pinned her hopes on President Yoweri Museveni, describing him as a leader who has championed laws protecting women and girls and given women leadership roles.
“You may blame the President for anything else, but when it comes to women’s rights… he has done his best,” she said, urging him to fight for Nakiryowa. She described the present moment as the best time to stand with the survivor.
Recalling the 2011 attack, Nameere described how Nakiryowa was splashed with acid outside the home of her estranged husband while carrying her baby daughter, saying the attack destroyed both her face and her dreams.
She also questioned why no one came to the women’s aid, and urged sceptics to at least refrain from mocking the survivor.
“If you cannot stand with her… please don’t mock her,” she said.
Nameere presented her advocacy as a continuation of her broadcasting career, saying she has spent 15 years bringing community voices to the studio. She added that the case remains on record with prosecutors and could be revived.
Where the case stands
Nakiryowa was attacked with acid on December 11, 2011, outside Dr Buyinza’s residence at Makerere, where she had gone to see their children after the couple separated. Their baby daughter was also burned.
Dr Buyinza was charged with attempted murder at Buganda Road Court and denied the charge. The case dragged on as prosecution witnesses failed to appear, and in July 2014 the DPP discontinued it and he was discharged without a conviction.
Nameere’s appeal comes as Nakiryowa releases a series of TikTok videos alleging that Dr Buyinza, who heads the Department of Economic Theory and Analysis at Makerere’s CoBAMS, withheld her marks while she was his student until she agreed to marry him. He has not publicly responded to the new allegations.
Makerere University responded on October 1 with a statement restating its zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment and gender-based violence, without naming the lecturer. Nakiryowa dismissed it on X as hollow and asked the university to say what concrete steps it is taking.
CampusBee has contacted Dr Buyinza and the Office of the DPP for comment and will update this story.
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