Defeated Stella Nyanzi still has her eye on Parliament

Political activist Dr Stella Nyanzi has declared that her parliament dream is far from dead.

Nyanzi, who is fresh from a self-imposed three months exile in Kenya, declared that she is still keen on making it to parliament.

Nyanzi contested for the Kampala Woman MP seat and lost to National Unity Platform's Shamim Malende in the just concluded polls. Nyanzi contested on the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) ticket.

A combative Nyanzi said that her loss did not mean she had given up the hope of representing Ugandans in parliament. She said that, instead, she had drawn many lessons from the bruising campaign that would help in her next quest to be elected to parliament.

"People say to me that you run under the slogan of 'From prison to Parliament' and now you're not in Parliament, actually I am. I have got all the Hansards and for the next five years, am going to be publishing about Parliament decisions. Am I in Parliament? Totally, as an academic I am," Nyanzi said.

She asserted, "The journey to Parliament is still on."

Nyanzi was previously a lecturer at Makerere University, specialising in anthropology and human sexuality.

She said that was back in the country after three months because she felt that threats to her life had lessened.

She claimed that she had been receiving many phone calls that made her afraid for her safety. She said, "I had to think twice about my own security. I was getting a number of anonymous calls that suggested that my location was being tracked, I became security cautious."

Nyanzi went on to claim that many Ugandans have quietly sought asylum or sanctuary in neighbouring countries including Kenya.

"Very many of these young men belong to NUP but there are other women and people belonging to other parties who have entered Kenya because of the same persecution," Nyanzi said.

According to Nyanzi, the recent impasse between Kenyan authorities and the United Nations High Commission for refugees has left a section of exiled Ugandans stranded following the closure of refugee camps.

Nyanzi made the remarks while appearing on NBS TV's Morning Breeze.