The wife of novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has sued the Special Forces Commander (SFC) over his continued detention.
In an application filed before the Civil Division of the High Court, Kakwenza’s wife Eva Basima is suing the SFC Commander Brigadier General Peter Candia, the Director of Criminal Investigations Directorate Grace Akullo, the Inspector General of Police Martin Okoth Ochola, and the Attorney General.
Basima contends that her husband was arrested from their other home in Kisaasi Nakawa Division Kampala by armed men and he has since remained inaccessible to her. Basima adds that she got an opportunity to see Kakwenza on Monday when plain-clothed men and armed SFC soldiers drove him to their upcountry home in Iganga District in eastern Uganda to conduct a search.
Ms Basima adds that when Kakwenza was taken for a search, he looked tortured; weak, was limping and wore a blood-stained vest and underwear.
"The applicant/Kakwenza revealed to me that he is being detained at Special Forces Command in Entebbe. The applicant remains under incommunicado and illegal detention,” said through her lawyers of Nalukoola, Kakeeto Advocates and Solicitors, and Kiiza and Mugisha Advocates.
She wants the High Court to order the respondents to produce Kakwenza dead or alive and explain why he should not be released from custody.
On Tuesday, the Makindye grade one magistrate Irene Nambatya issued an order directing the government to unconditionally release Kakwenza. This was on grounds that he had been in detention for more than the mandatory 48 hours without being arraigned in court which is a violation of his constitutional right to liberty and fair hearing.
Charles Twiine, spokesman for the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID), said Rukirabashaija was to be charged under the Computer Misuse Act with an offence that can carry up to a year in jail.
According to police, Kakwenza posted a series of belittling, derogatory and abusive tweets about President Museveni and his son, Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba (Commander of Land Forces).
He has, however, not been formally charged.
On the day of his arrest on December 28, the author wrote on his Facebook page: "Men with guns are breaking my door. They say they're policemen but are not in uniform."
Repeated arrests
The author won acclaim 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.
Rukirabashaija 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.
The wife of novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has sued the Special Forces Commander (SFC) over his continued detention.
In an application filed before the Civil Division of the High Court, Kakwenza’s wife Eva Basima is suing the SFC Commander Brigadier General Peter Candia, the Director of Criminal Investigations Directorate Grace Akullo, the Inspector General of Police Martin Okoth Ochola, and the Attorney General.
Basima contends that her husband was arrested from their other home in Kisaasi Nakawa Division Kampala by armed men and he has since remained inaccessible to her. Basima adds that she got an opportunity to see Kakwenza on Monday when plain-clothed men and armed SFC soldiers drove him to their upcountry home in Iganga District in eastern Uganda to conduct a search.
Ms Basima adds that when Kakwenza was taken for a search, he looked tortured; weak, was limping and wore a blood-stained vest and underwear.
"The applicant/Kakwenza revealed to me that he is being detained at Special Forces Command in Entebbe. The applicant remains under incommunicado and illegal detention,” said through her lawyers of Nalukoola, Kakeeto Advocates and Solicitors, and Kiiza and Mugisha Advocates.
She wants the High Court to order the respondents to produce Kakwenza dead or alive and explain why he should not be released from custody.
On Tuesday, the Makindye grade one magistrate Irene Nambatya issued an order directing the government to unconditionally release Kakwenza. This was on grounds that he had been in detention for more than the mandatory 48 hours without being arraigned in court which is a violation of his constitutional right to liberty and fair hearing.
Charles Twiine, spokesman for the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID), said Rukirabashaija was to be charged under the Computer Misuse Act with an offence that can carry up to a year in jail.
According to police, Kakwenza posted a series of belittling, derogatory and abusive tweets about President Museveni and his son, Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba (Commander of Land Forces).
He has, however, not been formally charged.
On the day of his arrest on December 28, the author wrote on his Facebook page: "Men with guns are breaking my door. They say they're policemen but are not in uniform."
Repeated arrests
The author won acclaim 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.
Rukirabashaija 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.