After her naked protest this morning, Dr. Stella Nyanzi’s office has been reopened by top Makerere University officials.
Police and the University Vice Chancellor Prof. Ddumba Sentamu, this morning rushed to Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR) to intervene after Nyanzi undressed in protest and posted the photos on her Facebook page, which has since been deactivated by the Facebook management.
The undressing was the peak of her battle with MISR head, Prof. Mahmood Mamdani, who locked her office on Friday after she had defied his eviction order. Mamdani accused her of refusing to participate in the Institute’s PhD teaching programme.
But Nyanzi said that the programme came into effect long after she was hired and that it was not part of her contract.
Mamdani locked out Nyanzi even after a letter from the Deputy Vice Chancellor advised that she retains the office until an alternative workspace had been allocated.
Nyanzi also wondered why Mamdani would allocate space to his wife, Hollywood director Mira Nair for her private Maisha Film business, yet she was not university staff.
This Monday morning, she took her protest a notch higher, first by locking Mamdani’s office and later undressing, prompting top university officials to intervene.
“Even powerless can be heard. My office has been opened. I want to thank those who supported me in the struggle. I have fought for the last six years. It has taken the power of the VC and Administration to intervene,” Nyanzi told reporters.
She added, “He locked mine and I also locked his. I told them that I will only give him his keys only if mine is opened. I have showed him my nudity. That’s the weapon I used to win, I will even show him my womanhood,” she threatened.
