Cerinah Nebandah was buried in Butaleja, Uganda on Sunday. She was a 24-year-old member of parliament, and she died in mysterious circumstances on Friday 14th December. The previous day she had been in parliament, making an interjection to the effect that the prime minister had been taking bribes, and complaining about the shortage of medicines in her electorate. On the Friday morning she was seen around parliament.
In the evening, Nebandah went to Buziga to visit her boyfriend. At around 6pm she made a phone call to her mother complaining of abdominal pains. She was driven to a nearby clinic, which referred her to a larger clinic, but she died before arriving there. The official story provided by a government doctor is that Nebandah died of cocaine and alcohol intoxication, but friends and family have denied that she took either.
Another doctor approved by both the parliament and Nebandah’s family was hired to conduct an independent investigation in South Africa, but he was arrested at the airport and prevented from leaving the country. At Nebandah’s funeral on Sunday, the crowd was in an angry mood, refusing to listen to the president’s message of condolence. Another member of parliament was arrested the following day for inciting violence by speaking against the government autopsy report.