Scholar and activist Stella Nyanzi has weighed in on the remanding of former Ugandan minister Miria Matembe, raising concern over the conditions she may be facing in custody after pleading for medical release.
Matembe was returned to prison despite informing the court of her deteriorating health and need for urgent medical attention.
Her remand has sparked reactions from activists and political observers, with Nyanzi drawing from her own past experience as a political prisoner to describe what the former minister could be enduring.
“As an ex-political-prisoner, I can only imagine what Dr Miria Mirembe underwent last night,” Nyanzi stated, highlighting the psychological and physical toll of detention.
She noted that for many women, especially those in positions of influence, imprisonment carries deep stigma.
“For many elite women in Uganda, it is shameful to go to prison… The shame is much worse for those who are role models, elders, authority figures, mothers, wives and those who are religious,” she added.
Nyanzi described the first hours in detention as the most distressing, citing fear, humiliation, and uncertainty. She pointed to procedures such as forced undressing and physical inspections as particularly degrading for new inmates.
“The shame of totally undressing… and the mandatory demand to remove all underwear… totally humiliates the new prisoner,” she said, recalling scenes of inmates breaking down in tears.
She further explained that a prisoner’s experience is shaped by ward allocation, with some sections reportedly used to contain outspoken detainees.
According to her, congestion, poor sanitation, and lack of basic necessities define daily life in Luzira Women’s Prison.
“Most prisoners without food from home must sleep on an empty stomach,” she noted, adding that many are forced to sleep on hard floors without adequate bedding.
Nyanzi questioned Matembe’s condition following her first night in custody, asking whether she had access to food, medical care, or basic comfort.
“I wonder where Dr Miria Matembe slept… what she ate… whether she was given support for her painful back and shoulder,” she posed.
She concluded by framing political detention as a recurring reality for critics of the government, arguing that imprisonment should not be viewed as shameful but rather as a consequence of dissent.