Kizza Besigye’s Winnie Byanyima Narrates How A Lecturer Tried To Take Advantage Of Her While At Makerere University

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima has recounted an alleged sexual harassment incident she says she experienced while studying at Makerere University, bringing renewed attention to the long-standing problem of sexual harassment at Uganda’s oldest university.

Byanyima, now 67, made the revelation during a recent interview with The Continent. She recalled that the incident happened after she enrolled at Makerere University to study civil engineering.

According to Byanyima, a lecturer came to her room one night and offered to help her pass her examinations if she agreed to have sex with him. She said she rejected the proposal because she believed she was capable of succeeding on her own.

“I said no. I didn’t need his help. I was one of the best students in the country. But saying no had consequences,” Byanyima recalled.

She did not identify the lecturer involved or provide details about the consequences she said followed after she rejected the alleged proposition. Her account dates back several decades to a difficult period in Uganda’s history under President Idi Amin.

The experience, however, has renewed discussion about sexual harassment and so-called “sex-for-marks” practices in institutions of higher learning. A university-appointed investigation in 2018 found that students at Makerere had been subjected to sexual harassment and exploitation, including situations involving threats related to academic results.

Since then, Makerere University has revised its sexual harassment policy and established mechanisms intended to support reporting, investigation and prevention of such cases.

More recently, in May 2026, the university trained 250 student peer trainers to help prevent gender-based violence, educate students and guide students who experience harassment towards available support services.

In the interview, Byanyima also reflected on growing up during a period of fear and political violence in Uganda. She recalled that young women lived with fears of being picked up by soldiers, while some girls left school to attend funerals of relatives who had been killed.

Byanyima eventually left Uganda for the United Kingdom as a refugee, reportedly carrying only $300. She later obtained a scholarship and studied aeronautical engineering at the University of Manchester, where she became involved in anti-apartheid activism, feminist movements, peace campaigns and efforts supporting human rights in Uganda.