Support Uganda Torture Victim, Author, Kakwenza

(The photo shows the wound scars on Kakwenza's back as a result of the torture he's endured).

Please support Kakwenza Rukirabashaija’s family and his legal defense.

 

Rukirabashaija who has been arrested and tortured by the military regime of Gen. Yoweri Museveni and his son Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba is a brave young Ugandan author who is also a columnist for Black Star News. He is the PEN International 2021 Writer of Courage awardee.

 

Kakwenza was released briefly on bail on Jan. 25, 2022 but arrested again immediately by Gen. Museveni’s and Gen. Kainerugaba’s secret police. Gen. Kainerugaba is reported to have personally directed the torture of Rukirabashaija who was first arrested on Dec. 28, 2021. He was reportedly furious that the writer, in a tweet, referred to the junior dictator as “obese.”

 

Kakwenza was first arrested in 2020 and viciously tortured after he authored a novel called “The Greedy Barbarian,” about a corrupt African dictator who has destroyed his country. Gen. Museveni who has been in power for 36 years may have seen too much similarity between the character in the novel and what he saw in the mirror. Rukirabashaija wrote a second book, “The Greedy Barbaria n” describing the torture he endured after his first book. He was again arrested and tortured.

 

After a global outcry, including by the U.S. which provides dictator Museveni’s regime with $1 billion annually, and by PEN International, Kakwenza was released—only to be arrested again on Dec. 28, 2021. Gen. Kainerugaba has reportedly personally directed the torture of Rukirabashaija. The general is referred to by many Ugandans as “Baby Doc,” a reference to the late Haitian dictator Francois Duvalier (“Papa Doc”) who was later succeeded by his son Jean Claude Duvalier (“Baby Doc.”)

 

Doctor James Kisamba, who examined Rukirabashaija recently in prison, wrote a report dated Jan. 20, 2022 that states in part: “This medical examination found the 33-year-old male prisoner remanded at Kitalya min max prison on January 11 with complaints of healing scars of wounds sustained before being remanded to prison…” The report adds, “He also had healing scars on the back, the buttocks, thighs and hands for which he is on medication.”

In an interview on WBAI 99.5 FM New York Radio, on Jan. 25, Rukirabashaija's lawyer Eron Kiiza described how the Museveni regime’s diabolical agents used pliers  to pluck off flesh from both of Rukirabashaija's thighs. The author was also beaten until he started vomiting and urinating blood.

After Rukirabashaija’s release and re-arrest on Jan. 25, the U.S. embassy in Uganda released this statement: "The USA is deeply concerned by reports that Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has again been detained by Ugandan security services following court ordered release on bail. In democratic societies, rule of law and judicial independence must be respected, especially by security agencies. We call for the release of Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, consistent with the magistrate's order. We also continue to monitor closely actions by individuals to undermine rule of law & democracy in Uganda."

 

Please support this fund for Rukirabashaija’s family and his legal defense from the vicious and cruel regime of Gen. Museveni and his son Gen. Kainerugaba.

 

(I'm the publisher of www.blackstarnews.com and Kakwenza has written several articles exposing tyranny in Uganda)