Kampala, Uganda | By Michael Wandati | Renowned Ugandan fashion designer Latif Madoi, who faced the traumatic experience of having his dreadlocks cut off following his arrest, has expressed his determination to regrow them “for as long as [he] lives.”
Madoi, known for designing clothes for celebrities including the late South African reggae legend Lucky Dube and Jamaican artist Busy Signal, was detained for just over six weeks.
Despite not being convicted of any crime, prison authorities insisted on cutting the dreadlocks he had been growing for 17 years.
Released on bail for one million Ugandan shillings ($269) on Monday 24, June 2024, Latif Madoi returned home heartbroken over the loss of his beloved dreadlocks. He shared with the Kampala Dispatch his emotional plea to the prison officer in charge to keep his hair, shedding tears when his request was denied.
“I consider my dreadlocks as my crown,” he said, adding that he was well known for having them and now he just looked like everyone else.
Despite this significant loss of identity, Madoi remains resolute, stating, “it doesn’t change the heart.”
The 47-year-old, celebrated for his “fashion concerts” where he would create 10 to 15 dresses in just two hours, now feels a profound sense of shyness without his dreadlocks. He confessed, “I feel shy… like I can’t visit places. Maybe I’ll even feel shy coming back on stage.”
The police claimed they raided his fashion school and arrested him for possessing “uniforms declared to be for the exclusive use” of the military and police, which is illegal under Ugandan law.
However, Mr. Madoi, his lawyer, and many Ugandan supporters online believe his detention was due to his association with Bobi Wine, the opposition leader and singer, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.
The two met when Bobi Wine asked Mr. Madoi to create clothes for his concerts and music videos. Their relationship continued when Bobi Wine entered politics, with Mr. Madoi designing the opposition leader’s signature campaign outfit—bright red overalls.
Mr. Madoi acknowledges that he was in possession of military gear when police raided his school on 13 May, but clarifies that the uniform was from the US army. He explained that he was making alterations for a friend who is a serving marine in the United States.
Despite having this uniform, Mr. Madoi firmly believes the police targeted him because he designed Bobi Wine’s red overalls.
“There’s no other reason. Everyone who is affiliated with Bobi Wine will always be arrested,” he says.
“We know we are not free any more. I cannot visit him at his home any time I want, like I used to. You always fear that maybe you will get arrested.”
The Kampala Dispatch has reached out to Ugandan authorities for their response.
Uganda’s security forces have a long-standing history of targeting political opponents of President Yoweri Museveni.
Bobi Wine, who is currently the most prominent challenger to President Museveni, has been arrested multiple times and charged with various offenses, including treason, all of which he denies.
The authorities maintain that these arrests are not politically motivated but are necessary to uphold law and order during opposition-led protests.
On Monday, Bobi Wine announced Mr Madoi’s release to his two million followers on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“Welcome back from captivity my brother Latif Madoi,” the message read.
“It’s a shame what loss, indignity and humiliation the regime has subjected you to since it detained you six weeks ago for having offered us your professional services.”
Mr Madoi is due back in court on 29 July. Between now and then, he will be trying to replace his school’s sewing machines, which were seized in the raid.
Also Read: Armed street beggar in Kampala charged, sent to Luzira prison
“The business is not the same… students have no machines where they can learn from, where we can make demonstrations from,” he says.
Mr Madoi is also working on feeling confident without his dreadlocks and has already managed to identify an upside.
“I have a 14-year-old daughter… she has never seen me without [dreadlocks]. Maybe she was always thinking: ‘My dad was born like that,'” he laughs.
“That’s comforted me – now she has the chance to see me without hair, looking like any other person.”
