‘I Refused Sexual Advances and They Fought Me’ — NRM’s Namyalo Alleges Widespread Harassment at Party Offices
KAMPALA, UGANDA — The Head of the Office of the NRM National Chairman, Hajjat Hadijah Namyalo, has accused senior party officials of demanding sex from women seeking to work or operate within the ruling party’s secretariat — and claimed she became a target after refusing to comply.
In a candid interview aired this week, Namyalo described a toxic culture she said she encountered upon first joining the party offices.
“Things were very tough for me and other female supporters,” she said. “Top party officials started fighting me when I refused their sexual advances. It was one of the requirements for any woman to be at the party offices. If you refused, you couldn’t manage.”
Namyalo, who now holds a senior role in the party hierarchy, said she resisted sustained pressure and observed many other women who were not as fortunate.
“I refused to be a victim like others who fell into the trap,” she stated. “It is the reason why many are always fighting me — just because I refused sexual advances. I have managed to get attention from the President, who appreciates whatever work I do for the party.”
She revealed that she personally raised the matter with President Yoweri Museveni during an event at Kololo ceremonial grounds. According to Namyalo, she told him plainly that sexual extortion had become a de facto condition of employment across government offices.
“I told him how it is done in all government offices — when mainly female job seekers go there to apply for jobs, many are asked for sex or who they know to get a job,” she said. “It is bad.”
The President is understood to have listened to her concerns, though no formal response has been issued from State House regarding the specific allegations.
Namyalo’s remarks have reignited public debate over sexual harassment and patronage networks in Uganda’s public sector. Women’s rights advocates have long documented cases of “sex for work” in ministries, local government, and parastatal bodies — often without consequence for perpetrators.
The NRM secretariat has not yet issued an official response to the claims. Attempts to reach several senior party officials for comment were unsuccessful by press time.
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