Death in Dubai

#DubaiPortaPotty

When the mysterious death of a beautiful 23-year-old Ugandan woman in Dubai goes viral, she becomes the face of the disturbing #DubaiPortaPotty. 

With over 450 million views on TikTok, the hashtag contains parodies and speculative exposés of women suspected of being “Dubai porta potties” – the internet term for supposedly money-hungry influencers willingly getting defecated on to fund lavish lifestyles.

Our documentary and podcast investigation reveals that behind these disturbing online rumours lies an even darker reality.

A co-production between investigative unit BBC Eye and Thread Studios, the film has been translated into four languages, while the 6 part podcast was published around the globe as part of World of Secrets. In March 2026 Death in Dubai won the Royal Television Society Award for International Current Affairs. The podcast was nominated for Best Podcast at the Amnesty International Media Awards and won for Audio Podcast – News/Investigative at 2026 Gracies.

Watch here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/n12t256jg/eye-investigations-death-in-dubai

Listen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w27vqsjt

Reported by: Runako Celina

Producers: Runako Celina, Ruth Evans, Bondo

Composer: Huw Jones

Director: Jamie Welham

Editor: Bettina Waked

Executive Producers: Milène Larsson and Mauricio Gris

Head of Production: Alex Farquharson