Ugandan Novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has thanked the Commissioner General of Uganda Prisons Dr. Johnson Byabashaija for instilling discipline into his officers at Kitalya prison.
Kakwenza was subjected to torture during his arrest and detention in December by security agencies at an unknown place. However the writer said it’s at Kitalya priso where he was handled with utmost dignity.
“Let me thank @jbyabs for inculcating discipline into his officers at Kitalya Mini max prison. Surely, they treated me with utmost dignity. Surely, how I entered Kitalya isn’t how I got out. There was improvement and if it weren’t them, I would have died there. Appreciation,” Kakwenza said.
Kakwenza was arrested at Kisaasi after a three days twitter feud with supporters of UPDF Land forces commander Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Kakwenza averred that Muhoozi’s supporters were allegedly bullying him for criticizing President Yoweri Museveni.
He was charged with two counts of offensive communication, contrary to Section 25 of the computer misuse act 2011. The Lawyer pleaded not guilty and was subsequently remanded to Kitalya prison.
Prosecution averred that Kakwenza on 24th December 2021 in the Kampala District, willfully and repeatedly used his Twitter handle to commit cases of offensive communication against the President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the first son Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, with no purpose of legitimate communication.
Rukirabashaija is the author of the novel The Greedy Barbarian, which takes on themes of high-level corruption in a fictional country. He was arrested on 13 April 2020 in Uganda, and held for seven days, during which time he was interrogated about his fiction and subjected to torture and later released. Rukirabashaija details this treatment in his latest work banana republic: Where Writing is Treasonous.
