Winnie Byanyima: I’m not a Rwandan

Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and wife to opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye, has denied being a Rwandan.

Responding to a social media follower who claimed she was not a Ugandan but a Rwandan, Byanyima clarified that she would have no problem being a Rwandan if she were one.

She also lectured trolls on the fact that Banyarwanda are one of recognized tribes of Uganda.

“It would also be nice if I were a Rwandan. And by the way, Banyarwanda are one of the many ethnicities that make up our beautiful, diverse country Uganda,” she responded.

“Yes Rwanda is a state and YES Banyarwanda are an ethnic group in Uganda, just like there are Acholi in Uganda and in South Sudan, Alur; and Bakonjo in Uganda and in DR Congo; and Samia and Sabiny in Uganda and Kenya.”

Warning against “ethnic hate speech,” Byanyima urged her trolls to “please read a little more history and geography” and “avoid a disenfranchising narrative.”