Uganda has warned that anyone who wears a red beret in support of pop star-turned-presidential challenger Bobi Wine could go to prison for life.

For young activists in Africa, the red beret is de rigueur. Julius Malema, a South African firebrand, says the hat is “a revolutionary symbol of defiance and resistance”.

But all eyes were on the girl in the red beret. Within five days, the song and the dance had gone viral, with commenters agreeing that Red-Beret Girl, Garbett, simply ate.

The red beret became a bone of contention during a parliamentary committee engagement on Monday (January 20) at Parliament in Uganda's capital Kampala.

The viral moment — inspiring interpretations from JoJo Siwa to Missy Elliot and possibly every TikToker on the planet — spotlights a student named Hortensia, better known online as Red Beret Girl.

On March 1, a cat mom named Lizzie shared the sweet saga of her tabby kitty, Fettuccine, and his beloved red beret. He was so obsessed with Lizzie's hat that she began to wonder if he was French!

"Told You So" is a polyrhythmic workout of a pop song with some of Taylor York's most athletic guitar work yet.

Bobi Wine in Uganda does it; so do the Economic Freedom Fighters in South Africa. The red beret is worn to signify the revolutionary. Its power lies in a symbolism that combines art and politics.