Uganda: Activist Praise Aloikin imprisoned after mocking the president's son on TikTok
Praise Aloikin, a 26-year-old Ugandan activist committed to fighting corruption, has been incarcerated since late September 2026 after mocking Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the army chief and son of President Yoweri Museveni, on TikTok by calling him a "cabbage." However, the charges officially brought against her do not concern her remarks: she is accused of using a SIM card registered in her mother's name, reports RFI.
The timeline of events is at the heart of the dispute. According to RFI, the activist was summoned to a police station on September 26, 2026, and then went missing until September 28. Amnesty International claims that armed men abducted her in an unmarked car. The organization denounces the repeated forced disappearances in Uganda since 2020. At this stage, Praise Aloikin has not been tried and is presumed innocent regarding the charge brought against her.
The "cabbage" that became a password
The choice of vocabulary is not anecdotal. The nickname coined by the young woman was picked up by other young Ugandans on social media, becoming a roundabout way to criticize the government without naming it, notes RFI. It is precisely this virality that gives the case a significance beyond the fate of a single person: it reveals the cost now attached to an online political joke.
Praise Aloikin is not unknown. She had received an award from the European Union the previous year for her commitment, specifies RFI. Her detention is being monitored by voices in Ugandan civil society, notably Agather Atuhaire, head of the Agora research center.
A technical charge for a political statement
The choice of the offense—using a SIM card in someone else's name—illustrates a mechanism well known to human rights defenders: when criticizing a leader is difficult to prosecute directly, an administrative motive can take its place. In a country where SIM card registration is mandatory, a large number of users are potentially exposed to the same charge.
For Story Africa, the defense of African rights does not stop at the borders of external interference: it includes the right of Ugandan citizens to mock their leaders without disappearing for three days. The outcome will depend on the legal proceedings opened against the activist and the authorities' response to Amnesty International's requests for an explanation regarding the conditions of her arrest.
This article was written in French with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited below, then translated from French automatically. Read the original.
