ALTERED: Kasese District’s RDC Lt Joe Walusimbi Did Not Make The Tribalism Statements In The TikTok Video.
His actual speech and voice were altered with AI.
Tribal attacks in Uganda’s politics have unfortunately continued to be a tool that is deployed and given centre stage when it comes to what influences how many Ugandans exercise their democratic rights and participate in elections.
Claim
A viral video on TikTok showing the Resident District Commissioner, Lt Joe Walusimbi of Kasese District, making outrageous tribalistic statements that only Bahima will rule forever and attacking Baganda and Banyankore in what looks like a press conference, is altered.
@vyrootaempire #viral #fyp #foryoupage #vyroota256 @sheilahprice.tv @Galaxy TV Jikonkone @100.2 Galaxy FM Zzina! @chickenCHICKEN ♬ original sound – VyrootaEmpire
It has garnered overwhelming engagement with over 21.8k likes, 2.2k comments and 4.4k shares as of 5th November 2025. Unfortunately, many TikTok users believed it to be true, and only a few could spot the AI alteration.
The analysis and fact-check.
Using the video keyframes and doing a reverse image search on them, we landed on another video of Walusimbi, in the same outfit and addressing the press, but the content was different from the one in the video we are fact-checking.
@codemedia1Kasese RDC walusimbi addressing the press on the kasese police barracks attack by unknown people.
The RDC’s address was about the attack in the Kasese District by machete-wielding men after unknown assailants launched an attack on the District in the wee hours of the morning at around 6:30 am on 1 November 2025. The attacks happened at the Lugendabara police post in Kasese District, the UPDF barracks at Malindi in Bundibugyo, and Canon Apollo School in Fort Portal.
When compared, you can see the difference in skin complexion of the RDC and the paleness and unnatural facial expressions and lip sync compared to the original video, which makes so much sense.
Now, with the rise of AI voice cloning, alteration of voices is on the rise, and as a result, social media users are taking advantage of these developments to portray misguided and pre-existing biases about certain tribes in Uganda in this election season, as well as ploughing ground for political gain for those driving the wrong narrative to the public, especially now.
Verdict:
Altered through AI: The video Vyroota Empire posted on the matter of Joe Walusimbi should be disregarded; it is simply misleading and uses his image out of context.