Topless protesters arrested at anti-corruption demonstration in Uganda

In several videos shared on social media platform X, protesters carried signs reading “Anti-Corruption” and painted their upper bodies in the colors of the Ugandan flag.

The group, which was demonstrating under a banner reading “Uganda Freedom Activists,” was intercepted by both uniformed and non-uniformed police officers.

They were later taken into police custody.

The predominantly young protesters demanded an audit of the parliamentarians' lifestyles and accountability of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) after at least 35 people were killed at a garbage dump in Kampala in August.

The July protests were organized on social media in response to long-standing corruption allegations against several high-ranking state officials.

The protests were partly prompted by demonstrations in neighboring Kenya last month that forced President William Ruto to cancel planned tax increases.

The police had previously stated that they would not authorize the march and would not tolerate any demonstration that threatened Uganda's “peace and security.”