‘A journalist told me I had nice lips’ - former presidential aspirant Mpambara decries sexualised campaigns

Social justice lawyer and activist Yvonne Mpambara has spoken out against the pervasive sexual objectification she faced during her recent, short-lived bid to become President of Uganda in the 2026 elections. 

Mpambara was one of only 15 women out of 221 Ugandans who expressed an interest in running for president. She also was among the only 3 women who gained enough voter support to be considered for nomination.

In an opinion piece published in The Guardian, Mpambara revealed that putting herself forward for the nation's highest office exposed her to constant, humiliating disrespect, arguing that the political system is geared towards shoving women out of top power structures.

Despite being a serious candidate offering an alternative vision of inclusive governance and legal reform, Mpambara found herself confronted by objectification. 

She recalled how along the way, many men saw her as nothing but a sex symbol and endured a great deal of harassment.

Despite being a woman running for the highest political seat in the nation, men still found the audacity to refer to me as “baby, sweetheart, darling” in official interactions.

In one incident when I was talking to a renowned media personality, he told me that I had nice lips. Another man insisted on me giving him a baby after the campaign, while a couple of men consistently requested that I meet them for dinner at strange hours of the night.

Mpambara says she faced online harassment where men constantly called her “the makeup president incapable of leading anyone”. 

She was referred to as Museveni’s granddaughter, and on another occasion she was accused of being a Rwandan spy who was sleeping with [Rwandan] President Paul Kagame and trying to destabilise the Ugandan government.

Mpambara’s campaign concluded before the final ballot, which now features eight male candidates, including the 81-year-old incumbent, Yoweri Museveni. 

The Outrage of the All-Male Ballot

In the article, she challenged the male political establishment’s claim that the result is due to a “fair and neutral electoral system.”

For women who lack equal access to resources and face historical disenfranchisement, true competition is an illusion. According to Mpambara, this alleged neutrality simply "maintains an environment where women are continually shoved out of the top power structures under the guise of competition.”

She described this as one of the most disrespectful periods of her life. The dismissal of women as ‘second-class citizens’ is, in her view, entrenched and even normalised by influential figures, citing the now-deleted tweets of Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces, who claimed he would arrest women based on their physical appearance, thereby normalising online abuse.

Mpambara’s decision to run was a direct attempt to break the barriers around a position she believes remains a “deeply gendered and symbolic office.” 

It is still, she argues, associated with traditional masculinity, military credentials, and strongman politics. Since the country’s independence in 1962, only four women have ever contested the presidency.

She lamented that Ugandans who offer a genuine alternative—especially women, young people, and those without elite access to exorbitant campaign funds—are simply told, “Not you! Not now! Not like that!” 

Mpambara, a 33-year-old human rights activist, offered a vision centred on social justice and decentralised accountability, promising "no more recycled politics in new clothes."

Though her presidential bid was bruising, Mpambara insists her experience is not the end of the fight, having gained “new zeal to fight the system now that I have seen how it works from the inside.”

She has since established the Foundation for Female Presidential Aspirants (FFPA), an organisation aimed at nurturing and empowering women across the continent to bid for the highest office.

Furthermore, she is building an all-female political party and movement, the Women Freedom Fighters, noting that her presidential bid was complicated because no woman in Uganda currently heads a political party.

Forming a party dedicated solely to endorsing women for the presidential race will mark the first of its kind in East Africa, cementing her commitment to shift the political landscape fundamentally.