We can't locate Kakwenza, says UHRC

Ugandan Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has asked the government to "immediately" release novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija who was arrested in December last year or produce and charge him before a court of law.

Kakwenza was arrested on December 28, 2021 on charges of offensive communication after he allegedly made abusive, derogatory, and belittling tweets against President Museveni and his son, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba who is also the UPDF commander of land forces.

"The UHRC has over the past days visited various security and detention facilities in and around the country to locate @KakwenzaRukira. The Commission has equally been engaging security agencies and relevant government authorities to ensure that justice for Kakwenza prevails. While we continue our efforts to locate Kakwenza, we urge the government to immediately release him or produce and charge him before a court of law," reads the commission's statement issued on Friday, a day after it said it was barred by the constitution from investigating cases before the court, such as that of Kakwenza.

However, the novelist is yet to be formally charged in courts of law. His wife and lawyer say he was tortured while in detention.

Uganda Police Force has also defied a court order issued by the Makindye Chief Magistrate Court, Grade One Magistrate Irene Nambatya on January 4, 2022, to release the novelist.

On Monday, the spokesperson of the Criminal Investigations Directorate, Mr Charles Twiine, said they were to present Kakwenza in court on Tuesday this week.

Of late, the police have been accused of ignoring court orders, but last November, Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka warned them to desist from such impunity.

On November 4, 2021, Mr Kiwanuka wrote to Inspector General of Police Martins Okoth-Ochola, ordering police to always comply with all the court directives to avoid litigation and awards.

“The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to advise you to direct your officers to comply with the said directives of the court and perform their duties and obligations as is required under the law as failure to do so may lead to contempt of court proceedings filed against the Inspector General of Police personally,” Mr Kiwanuka wrote then.

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga then said they would comply with the court orders as directed by the Attorney General.

International and local human rights activists have condemned the continued detention of Mr Kakwenza.

Repeated arrests

The author won a claim for his 2020 satirical novel, "The Greedy Barbarian", which describes high-level corruption in a fictional country.

He was awarded the 2021 PEN Pinter Prize for an International Writer of Courage, which is presented annually to a writer who has been persecuted for speaking out about their beliefs.

Kakwenza has been repeatedly arrested since "The Greedy Barbarian" was published. He has said he was tortured while being interrogated by military intelligence about his work.

At the time, he was accused of breaching Covid-19 social distancing rules, inciting violence, and promoting sectarianism.

He described his time in detention as "inhumane and degrading" in his most recent book "Banana Republic: Where Writing is Treasonous."

Reformist

Once hailed as a reformist, Museveni has ruled Uganda since seizing control in 1986, when he helped end years of tyranny under Idi Amin and Milton Obote.

But the former rebel leader has since cracked down on dissent and changed the constitution to allow himself to contest elections again and again.

Uganda has suffered a series of crackdowns meted on those opposed to Museveni's rule, with journalists attacked, lawyers jailed, election monitors prosecuted and opposition leaders violently muzzled.

The United States last month announced sanctions against Uganda's military intelligence chief Major General Abel Kandiho, citing his involvement in serious human rights abuses including beatings, sexual assault, and electrocution.

Barely two days after the sanctions, two other members of the Ugandan armed forces were handed lengthy jail terms for their part in violence against protesters in 2020 that left more than 50 people dead.