Winnie Byanyima, the wife of veteran Ugandan opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye, has found herself at the center of a social media storm after an X user accused her of hypocrisy for smoking while criticizing President Yoweri Museveni. The controversy erupted when a user named Gumisiriza posted a photo of Byanyima holding a cigarette, sparking a heated online debate about her personal habits and political credibility.
In his post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gumisiriza shared the image with a caption dripping with indignation: “We can’t sit here and just look at these—abuse our President who has made this country as good as it is!!! It is betrayal if we don’t expose them too now I challenge @Winnie_Byanyima and her folks to show us a picture of Maama @JanetMuseveni like this lack of morality just.” He argued that Byanyima’s alleged smoking undermined her moral authority to attack Museveni, daring her to produce a similar photo of Uganda’s First Lady, Janet Museveni.
The photo in question appears to show Byanyima casually holding a cigarette, a sight that Gumisiriza claimed was evidence of her duplicity. His post quickly gained traction, with some Museveni supporters seizing the opportunity to question the opposition figure’s integrity.
But Byanyima wasn’t about to let the accusation slide. Taking to her own X account, she delivered a sharp and spirited rebuttal: “I’ve never been a smoker and never will be—I just have a sense of humor. You, on the other hand, are just pathetic!” Her response suggests the cigarette moment was a playful act, not a habit, and she dismissed the attack as a weak attempt to discredit her.
This isn’t the first time Byanyima, a prominent figure in Ugandan politics and the Executive Director of UNAIDS, has faced scrutiny from government supporters. Her husband, Dr. Kizza Besigye, has long been a thorn in Museveni’s side as a leading opposition voice, contesting multiple elections against the long-serving president. Byanyima herself has been vocal in her critiques of Museveni’s administration, often drawing the ire of his loyalists.