UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima has recalled an alleged sexual harassment incident she says she experienced while studying at Makerere University, saying a lecturer offered to help her pass her examinations in exchange for sex.
Byanyima, 67, made the revelation during a recent interview with The Continent. She said the incident happened after she enrolled at Makerere to study civil engineering.
According to Byanyima, the lecturer came to her room one night and made the proposition. She said she rejected him because she believed she was capable of succeeding through her own academic ability.
“I said no. I didn’t need his help. I was one of the best students in the country. But saying no had consequences,” she recalled.
Byanyima did not name the lecturer or disclose the consequences she said followed her refusal. Her account dates back several decades, during the difficult political period of Idi Amin’s rule.
Her experience has renewed attention on sexual harassment and “sex-for-marks” practices in institutions of higher learning. A 2018 Makerere investigation found cases of sexual harassment and exploitation involving students, including threats linked to academic results.
Makerere has since strengthened its sexual harassment policy and introduced measures aimed at preventing and responding to such cases. In May 2026, the university also trained 250 student peer trainers to help prevent gender-based violence and guide students affected by harassment.
Byanyima also spoke about growing up during political violence in Uganda before eventually leaving the country for the United Kingdom as a refugee. She later studied aeronautical engineering at the University of Manchester and became involved in human rights, feminist and anti-apartheid activism.
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