AI Deepfake? Or did Sauda Madada really support NRM in 2020?

The Image that has gone viral online shows Sauda Madada in a yellow NRM T-shirt.

A post claiming Sauda Madada was a member of the National Resistance Movement party(NRM) in 2020 has gone viral in Uganda. We have analysed this post and the image used and found inconsistencies in the storyline and in the image's metadata.

The image, which we know now to be a deepfake, was first posted by X user @kirya_ug. Kirya's post "Sauda Madada in 2020, Naye Omwana ono" has garnered 43,000 views and has been shared 53 times. The image has reached Facebook, too, being posted by Nicholas Balo and Eddie Kigezi.

We used a variation ot tools in an attempt to identify the source of this image. The first red flag was that the source was not mentioned in the metadata.

The Image's metadata has no location information, no mention of the camera that shot it and when it was shot.

Digital photographs normally include additional information in the metadata such as the make and model of the camera used and the camera settings. This information helps identify the image’s original source. This image, however, did not have any of that information.

AI Image detectors flag the image

Decopy AI says this image is 99% AI generated

We also passed the image through Decopy AI, an AI image detector tool. Decopy found inconsistencies with the image and scored it at a probability of 99% as a potential AI generated image.

The Image also failed the Sight Engine AI test

Another AI Image detector tool, Sight engine scored the image at "92% likely to be AI"

Who is Sauda Madada?

Madada donning the NUP's red beret.

Sauda Madada is a prominent Ugandan politician who has maintained a consistent affiliation with opposition politics throughout the period from 2018 to 2022. Contrary to the rumours, Madada was not aligned with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) during these years.

Sources close to the political landscape confirm that Madada’s allegiance was closely tied to the People Power movement, the pressure group that gave birth to the National Unity Platform (NUP) opposition party led by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine. Known affectionately as the “NUP Iron Lady,” she has been a key figure supporting the party’s agenda and has often been vocal in her criticism of the ruling party, NRM.

In 2011 Madaada was involved in University politics at Kyambogo University. She was a then a member of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) university structure. Despite being on government sponsorship, she participated in every tuition fee strike by private students.

She later joined the main FDC party structures rising to the position of youth chairperson for Nakawa.

When Kyagulanyi stood for the Kyadondo East MP seat, Madaada left FDC, which was backing Apollo Kantinti, to campaign for Bobi Wine.

After Kyagulanyi's win in Kyadondo, Madaada went to Rukungiri to mobilise for FDC’s Betty Muzanira for the Rukungiri Woman MP by-election in 2018. A month later, she was in Bugiri campaigning for JEEMA’s Asuman Basalirwa, who eventually also won the municipality’s by-election.

On August 13, 2018, Madada was one of the mobilisers of then People Power candidate Kasiano Wadri who were beaten after a scuffle ensued between NRM and People power supporters. She was in the car with Yasin Kawuma, Bobi wine's driver when he was shot dead that night.

Sauda Madada in hospital 2018

Madada spent months at the Agha Khan hospital in Nairobi nursing wounds from the Arua beatings.

Bobi Wine and Nubian Li pose with Sauda Madada at Agha Khan Hospital, Nairobi. They had gone to visit her

There is no publicly available detailed records of specific party registration changes for Madada between 2018 and 2022.

Deepfake AI content poses a significant threat to Uganda’s political landscape, especially ahead of the 2026 elections. Artificial intelligence can generate highly realistic fake Images, videos and audio clips that manipulate politicians’ faces and voices to fabricate statements or actions they never made. This technology has the potential to dangerously distort public perception and trust.

A recent analysis highlights how deepfakes could be weaponised on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), which is widely used in Uganda for political discourse. While AI offers opportunities to enhance electoral transparency and efficiency, without proper governance, it risks undermining democracy, public trust, and social stability in Uganda.