Uncle Chumi has explained the heated exchange with a Special Forces Command (SFC) soldier that drew attention online after the confrontation in Kampala on Tuesday, August 25.
The incident happened during heavy rain after Chumi accused the soldier of splashing water from his vehicle onto her. Footage circulating online shows the singer confronting the soldier and demanding compensation for the clothes she said had been ruined.
The exchange became tense, with the soldier heard telling Chumi that if she had committed an offence, the law should be used rather than force.
Chumi, meanwhile, insisted that she should be compensated for her damaged clothes.
According to the singer, however, the encounter initially appeared to be heading toward a peaceful resolution.
Chumi said the soldier had seen her filming before driving through the rain and splashing water onto her. She approached him to complain about what had happened, particularly because she had recently had a haircut and had hair dye on at the time.
“I came out to speak with him and he was humble. I told him that he had ruined my clothes and hair dye because I had just had a haircut. He apologised.”
The situation reportedly changed when Chumi looked inside the vehicle and noticed two civilian women recording the confrontation.
She said their response when she questioned why they were filming contributed to her losing her temper.
“When I looked into his car I noticed that there were two civilian women recording me. That is why I lost my cool. I asked why they were recording but they asked what I was going to do about it.”
Chumi said the soldier also became agitated as she confronted the women. She suggested that one of them may have been the soldier’s wife, although she did not establish that as a fact.
“While I confronted them I think one of them might have been his wife, so he also became agitated.”
Despite the confrontation, Chumi said she does not have a personal problem with the soldier or Uganda’s security forces.
She described herself as a friend of soldiers and maintained that the incident was not rooted in any broader disagreement with the military.
“I was not angry at him. I am a friend of the soldiers. There’s nothing much.”
The singer’s explanation offers more context to the footage circulating online, where a seemingly minor incident involving rainwater and damaged clothes developed into a much more heated public exchange.