Anselm Besigye, a son of opposition strongman Dr. Kizza Besigye and Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of UNAIDS is currently trending at number one on the blue app, Twitter.
On Sunday, Byanyima posted photos of herself, Anselm, and his friends.
She captioned the photos saying,
“A lovely evening at home. Anselm, Ryen and I hosted Paula. Oh, the joy of breaking bread together!”
A section of Ugandan tweeps reacted to the photos by criticizing Anselm’s lifestyle, the dress code to be specific.
“Our generation has grown up having Dr.KB and Winnie as a source of inspiration, and trust me every time we see Anselm with the direction he took, it hurts us coz he is much of a brother to us! We continue to put him in our prayers coz we know God can show him the light someday,” said @TKibumba.
Byanyima, like any other mom, defended her son asking tweeps to let his son be.
“Anselm is God’s child just as you are. He is brilliant, thoughtful, and loving. He is a high achiever, on his way to graduate school. Don’t worry about him. Get on with your life,” said Byanyima.
Another tweep, @B_Bwaruzira said “Maama Winnie this is a bitter tablet to swallow as a mother and most importantly a mother from our land. This is not about insulting you Maama or being disrespectful kwonka timworeiregye in our very own African perspective. I come in peace Maama.”
Byanyima responded, “I’m proud of Anselm. A Harvard graduate who won the prestigious Hoopes prize for his research and is on his way to UChicago for graduate studies. A longtime activist w/Palestinian rights movements & other justice struggles. An Arabic speaker, a great cook, and more. Get on with your life!”