RUKUNGIRI — A Ugandan minister has come under criticism after a video appeared to show him throwing pieces of cake into a crowd during Boona FM’s ninth-anniversary celebrations at Rukungiri Main Stadium.
The incident occurred on September 5, during the station’s Ekigutuuro Rwata Ngoma celebrations, an entertainment event that brought together musicians, political figures and thousands of revellers in western Uganda.
The event was held at Rukungiri Main Stadium and featured performances from several Ugandan artists. Organisers billed it as one of the region’s major annual entertainment gatherings.
A video of the cake incident subsequently circulated on social media, triggering criticism over the manner in which food was distributed to members of the public.
Former opposition politician Ingrid Turinawe was among those who criticised the incident. In a post on X, she said the minister had thrown pieces of cake into the crowd with his hands while smiling and watching people scramble for the pieces.
“They no longer throw food to their beloved dogs, but they throw crumbs to human beings,” Turinawe wrote.
Her comments added a political dimension to what was otherwise an entertainment event, particularly because the celebrations took place in a region where political tensions have remained visible during the current political season.
Reports from the event also indicate that sections of the crowd repeatedly chanted “Free Besigye”, referring to detained opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye, during appearances by political figures.
The cake controversy has since moved beyond the question of what was being distributed to a deeper argument about dignity.
For critics, the problem was not that cake was shared with the crowd; it was the manner in which it was allegedly done — food being thrown over people’s heads for them to scramble for it.
Supporters of the event, meanwhile, have pointed to its enormous turnout and its role as a major cultural and entertainment gathering in western Uganda. Social media posts from attendees described the celebrations as a major success, with organisers and partners celebrating the large turnout.
Boona FM had earlier announced that its ninth-anniversary celebrations would be bigger than previous editions, with the station’s management promising entertainment and commercial activities around the event.
The incident has also acquired significance because of the political identity of some of the people involved.
Turinawe, a long-time opposition figure from Rukungiri, contested the Rukungiri Municipality parliamentary seat in the 2026 elections and later challenged the victory of retired Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde in court, alleging irregularities in the election.
That makes the cake video part of a larger political conversation in which public gatherings increasingly double as stages for political messaging.
But beneath the politics lies a simpler question.
What does it mean to respect a crowd?
A politician may see a stadium packed with supporters as evidence of popularity. An organiser may see thousands of people as a successful event. A citizen sees something else: whether the person standing on the stage treats the people below as equals.
Food can be generosity.
Food can also become humiliation, depending on how it is given.
And when citizens are scrambling on the ground for pieces thrown from above, the argument is no longer really about cake. It is about power — and how power behaves when it believes the crowd belongs to it.
