"I learnt very early that there are some topics in Uganda that are tired and... the only way to capture attention is to introduce some shock value," the 47-year-old told AFP in an interview in Kampala.

And plenty of people have been shocked by Nyanzi's methods, which range from calling President Yoweri Museveni "a pair of buttocks" to baring her breasts during a court hearing.

But the former university researcher, who holds a doctorate on sexuality in Africa and boasts nearly 300,000 followers on Facebook, is unrepentant.

"We don't see or we pretend we don't see what's happening in society especially the excesses and the violations" under Museveni's decades-long authoritarian rule, she said.

"To say to a violent, militant, brutal regime that you are violent, stop, does not (have) as much impact as to say... fuck the rapist, militant penis of the dictatorship."

 

Stella Nyanzi says her children keep her going

She has paid a high price of her willingness to challenge authority -- imprisoned for "cyber-harassment" in 2019 after she posted a profane poem on Facebook about Museveni and suffering a miscarriage after being beaten in jail.

Although she insists that her losses are "not worth writing home about", grief is at the heart of her quest to bring down Museveni.

After losing her parents in quick succession six years ago -- unable to find life-saving medicines or get an ambulance in time -- Nyanzi turned to humour, in part to escape the overwhelming sadness that engulfed her.

In her hands however, humour has also become a weapon to channel her rage against a government she blames for the deaths of her parents and thousands of Ugandans who lack access to reliable health care and other public services.

- 'Radical rudeness' -

A polarising figure, Nyanzi has drawn scorn from religious conservatives, and even from some feminists, who criticise her relentless focus on sex.

"I am tired of feminists telling me how I am wrong and how I can't do this and how this is anti-feminist," she said.

 

 

Nyanzi says Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is 'living on borrowed time'

"Just allow me to be free, to do my own thinking and my own protest," she said, pointing out that her no-holds-barred approach to sexuality is based in pre-Christian Ugandan culture and aimed at empowering women by encouraging them to discuss taboo subjects.

Her tactics also borrow from a political tradition of "radical rudeness", which has its roots in the country's anti-colonial struggle.

And while her blistering online diatribes comparing Museveni's regime to parasitic pubic lice have earned her the tag of "Uganda's rudest woman", the strategy has also made her a social media star outside the country.

Online threats from pro-government trolls don't faze her.

"I am not looking for love and hugs," she said.

"I go to social media very consciously and very purposefully to speak truth to power, truth which our traditional public media no longer speaks."

Furthermore, the toxic rhetoric she encounters pales in comparison to the very real risks faced by many activists in Uganda.

Nyanzi fled to Kenya earlier this year after her partner was allegedly abducted and tortured.

Although she has since returned to Kampala, she is contemplating the possibility of a life in exile to protect her three children.

- 'Hope keeps me going' -

But the self-described optimist, who contested parliamentary elections in January and lost, has no plans to throw in the towel.

"The hope that (Uganda) can change and may become better for the next generation keeps me going," she said.

With a median age that is less than 16, most Ugandans have no memory of life before Museveni. The former rebel seized power in 1986, after toppling two presidents.

 

 

Stella Nyanzi fled to Kenya earlier this year after her partner was allegedly abducted and tortured but has since returned to Uganda

At 77, he belongs firmly to her "father's generation", Nyanzi said.

"Museveni is living on borrowed time... his family and his system will one day be out of power."

When that happens, she hopes that her compulsion to protest will also become a thing of the past.

But until then, she stands ready and armed with an arsenal of explicit imagery designed to shock and provoke change.

"What I am doing is not erotica and it's not pornography. It's rage and the expression of rage using my body." Mail Online

The last three mountain glaciers in Africa are receding so much that they may disappear in the next 20 years, according to a recent United Nations report that outlines the many issues facing the continent due to global warming.

Ahead of the United Nations' climate change conference on Oct. 31, the World Meteorological Organization released a report on the state of Africa's climate in 2020, detailing how much the continent's estimated 1.3 billion people will be affected in the coming years.

The three mountain glaciers remaining — Mount Kenya in Kenya, the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda and the famous Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania — aren't big enough to provide water resources, but have become tourist attractions. Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, is one of the most popular climbs in the world.

However, the glaciers on the mountains are receding higher than the global average. If they continue to do so, they will be completely gone by the 2040s, the report says. Mount Kenya is on pace to deglaciate by 2030, which would make it "one of the first entire mountain ranges to lose glaciers due to human-induced climate change," according to the report.

In this Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 file photo, A herd of adult and baby elephants walks in the dawn light in 2012 as the highest …  

BEN CURTIS, AP

Petteri Taalas, secretary-general for the WMO, said in a statement the eventual loss of the glaciers, "signals the threat of imminent and irreversible change to the Earth system." 

Deglaciation is just one of many climate issues facing the continent, the report shows. Over 15 countries reported deaths or significant displacement of populations due to excessive flooding. In addition, droughts and dry conditions prevailed in northwest and southeastern parts of Africa, so much so that the country of Madagascar is experiencing a humanitarian crisis.

Temperatures in the past 30 years also increased faster than the global average, with 2020 being one of the continent's hottest years on record. In addition, sea levels rose up to 4.1 millimeters a year along the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts. 

A drought or flood can result in food insecurity increasing by 5-20% in certain sub-Saharan African populations.

Worldwide, 12% of recent displacement of human population occurred in East Africa, resulting in over one million displacements. 

If the trends continue and action is not taken, the report states up to 118 million people who live on less than $1.90 a day will be exposed to floods, droughts and extreme heat.

All of the concerning climate change possibilities come as COVID-19 as severely impacted the continent. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Africa has reported more than 6 million COVID-19 cases and 148,000 deaths, according to World Health Organization data. However, a recent report by the WHO states only 14.2% of infections are being detected.

Vaccination rates are also far behind, as just 4.96% of the continent is fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In September, the WHO estimated the continent only had enough vaccines to inoculate just 17% of the population this year, but efforts are being made to send more vaccines to countries.

Taalas said helping the continent overcome COVID-19 is just as important as avoiding climate disasters.

"Along with COVID-19 recovery, enhancing climate resilience is an urgent and continuing need. Investments are particularly needed in capacity development and technology transfer, as well as in enhancing countries’ early warning systems, including weather, water and climate observing systems," he said.

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.

Natural immunity is good: Getting vaccinated after being sick with COVID-19 is better

 

USA Today