Ugandan media personality and socialite Sheila Gashumba has dismissed social media reports alleging that she assaulted a woman over her boyfriend, businessman Alex Bidandi, describing the claims as fabricated.
The allegations circulated on social media last week, with reports claiming that Gashumba confronted a woman after allegedly receiving a video showing the woman dancing closely with Bidandi at a bar.
According to the reports, Gashumba allegedly travelled to the venue, confronted and assaulted the woman before reportedly giving her money to remain silent about the incident.
However, Gashumba has strongly denied the allegations, saying she was not even in Uganda when the incident was purported to have taken place.
Speaking during a conversation with blogger Peng Peng, Gashumba said she first came across the claims after a fan sent them to her.
“That is not true. I have just come from the airport. I was not in the country,” she said.
Gashumba said she found the reports amusing and questioned how such stories about her private life continue to emerge.
She also defended Bidandi, describing him as a private person whose low public profile can sometimes fuel speculation.
“My boyfriend is a private person and he does not post a lot. People, what they do not understand or have full access to, they have to create stuff,” she said.
The social media personality further questioned why she would allegedly put her boyfriend, whom she described as a respected businessman, in such a compromising situation.
“This is someone that is out there doing business with people during the day. Why would I put him in such a situation?” she asked.
Gashumba also rejected claims that she had paid the alleged victim to keep quiet, challenging the logic behind the accusation.
She questioned why the woman would not report the alleged assault to authorities if the incident had actually occurred.
Gashumba calls for “new faces” in Uganda’s celebrity scene
The controversy also prompted Gashumba to comment on Uganda’s celebrity culture and the amount of attention surrounding her personal life.
She suggested that the country needs more female public figures to take some of the spotlight away from established personalities.
“I think Uganda needs to produce some new female public figures so you can give some of us a break, because we have outgrown this,” she said.
She added that Uganda should have “new girls on the scene” who can become the focus of public interest.
Gashumba has remained a prominent figure in Uganda’s entertainment and social media space for years, with her fashion, lifestyle, business activities and relationships frequently attracting public attention.
For now, she maintains that the latest assault allegations are false and says she was outside Uganda when the alleged incident supposedly happened.
