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Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, has publicly criticised two senior Ugandan female leaders, Anitah Among (Speaker of Parliament) and Jesica Alupo (Vice President), for allegedly misusing the traditional Suuti dress worn by the Banyankole people of Western Uganda.
The dress, a cultural symbol for Banyankole women, sparked a debate online after both leaders, who are from the Teso region in Eastern Uganda, were photographed wearing it during prominent public events.
Byanyima, a former Member of Parliament for Mbarara, shared images of the two leaders on social media, sparking widespread discussion.
Mrs. Among, on one hand, wore the Suuti dress during a traditional Kuhingira ceremony in Mbarara and later posted photos visiting a local resort in front of a herd of Ankole cows.
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Anita Among
Alupo, married to a Munyakole man, donned the same attire during the Martyrs Day event in Namugongo.
Byanyima shared frames of the two ladies with a caption, “Help me understand this,” which went viral, as many questioned the motives behind their choice of dress.
Jessica Alupo
Political Symbolism or Cultural Appreciation?
In a follow-up post, Byanyima clarified her stance, arguing that the decision to wear the Suuti dress was not simply a matter of fashion but a political statement.
She argued that the two women were using the dress not to show appreciation of the Ankole culture, but a public allegiance to President Yoweri Museveni, a Munyankole man.
“In a healthy democracy, national leaders are expected to serve the public, not perform loyalty to a person. But what we saw was a staged show of devotion to President Museveni, not to Uganda’s diverse people or democratic ideals,” she said.
“This wasn’t about celebrating Banyankore culture. It was about enacting obedience to President Museveni, whose identity—ethnic, cultural, and partisan—has increasingly become a template for political survival."
The Danger of Political Cultism
Byanyima further warned that the act of dressing in the symbols of one leader’s heritage and party was a dangerous form of political theatre.
“When leaders dress in the symbols of one man’s heritage and party, they send a clear message: 'We are with him, not necessarily with the people,'" she said.
She stressed that the real threat wasn’t the clothing itself but the underlying message it conveyed—one of submission to the president rather than democratic accountability.
Ankole Suuti
"This is how personality cults work. Institutions weaken. Parties become tools of one person. Public officials act as loyalists, not guardians of the public interest. The state becomes personal," she explained.
Byanyima concluded her remarks by stressing the importance of resisting the slide into political cultism, regardless of how harmless it may seem when dressed in traditional attire.