Dr. Stella Nyanzi has shared a personal reflection on what veteran politician Miria Matembe may have experienced during her first night in custody, drawing from her own time at Luzira Women’s Prison to describe the physical and psychological impact of imprisonment.
In a post published on her X account following Matembe’s detention, Nyanzi said she could “only imagine” the ordeal faced by the veteran politician, arguing that imprisonment carries a unique emotional burden for women who hold respected positions in society.
“As an ex-political-prisoner, I can only imagine what Dr Miria Mirembe underwent last night,” Nyanzi wrote.
She described prison as particularly traumatic for women viewed as role models, mothers, wives, elders, religious leaders, and people in positions of authority, saying many struggle with the stigma associated with incarceration.
“For many elite women in Uganda, it is shameful to go to prison—any prison, let alone Luzira Women Prison,” she wrote, adding that “it takes a lot of hard work on oneself to refuse the shame projected on prisoners.”
Nyanzi’s account focused less on the legal circumstances surrounding Matembe’s detention and more on what she described as the emotional and physical realities faced by women entering Luzira Women’s Prison for the first time.
She recalled the journey from court to prison as one filled with fear, anxiety over family members left behind, and uncertainty about what awaited them. According to Nyanzi, the admission process can be humiliating, involving searches before new inmates are issued prison uniforms.
“The mandatory demand to remove all underwear and spread the legs for inspection by prison wardresses totally humiliates the new prisoner,” she wrote, adding that she had witnessed many women break down in tears during the process.
Nyanzi also described the different sections within Luzira Women’s Prison, claiming that the ward where an inmate is placed often shapes their experience while in custody.
She alleged that outspoken political prisoners on remand are commonly placed in Ward 2, while those considered calmer are assigned to Ward 1. She further claimed that wealthier inmates are often accommodated in Ward 5, while sick, pregnant and nursing mothers may be placed in the prison’s sick bay.
She also highlighted challenges she associated with prison conditions, including overcrowded wards, prisoners sleeping on cement floors when mattresses are unavailable, limited access to blankets and bathing facilities, and reliance on food brought by relatives.
Against that background, Nyanzi questioned how Matembe spent her first night in custody.
“I wonder where Dr Miria Matembe slept last night. I wonder what she ate for supper last night. I wonder if she was able to bathe in the prison bathrooms last night. I wonder whether she was given an old or new prison uniform. I wonder whether she was given support for her painful back and shoulder.”
Nyanzi concluded her message by linking imprisonment of government critics to Uganda’s political history.
“In Museveni’s military dictatorship, prison is the second home of every critic!” she wrote, adding that being imprisoned for questioning or criticising government actions should not be viewed as shameful.
“Rather than a shame, being a political prisoner is an honour,” she said.
Her comments came after Matembe’s detention, with Nyanzi using her own experience as a former political prisoner to express solidarity and draw attention to what she described as the challenges faced by critics of government who end up in custody.
