Ugandan author flees into exile after torture

Ugandan author flees into exile after torture

Viral video showing Kakwenza Rukirabashaija’s body full of welts and scars sustained in detention shocks nation

By Hamza Kyeyune

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - A Ugandan award-winning author has gone into exile for fear of his life and will settle temporarily in an unnamed European country, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Kakwenza Rukirabashaija fled Uganda across the land border with Rwanda.

His lawyer, Samuel Wanda, has indicated that Rukirabashaija will fly from Kigali International Airport to another African country, where he will spend three days and then fly to Europe.

The writer was recently charged with making offensive comments on social media about Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s son and is still battling a court case. He had been in custody for nearly a month until his release on bail.

A viral video in which Rukirabashaija exposes his body full of dermatological ulcerations, bruised ribs and a fractured ankle bone which he sustained while in detention recently shocked the nation. He also shared photos on Twitter of visible scars.

He lost his bid Monday to regain his passport to travel and have his wounds treated abroad. The magistrate ruled there was no urgent need for him to travel.

His lawyer said conditions had become impossible for Rukirabashaija because he was under constant surveillance and that the author had serious injuries from torture and had no option but to flee the country to save his life.

Activists are increasingly accusing the security forces, especially the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, of torturing suspects in custody.

Members of the opposition in Uganda’s parliament, including a few from the ruling party, marched out of a plenary session last week, paralyzing House business, in protest against alleged continued injustices in the country that include several killings and unaccounted for citizens, the torture of citizens, and illegal arrests across the country.

Rukirabashaija only appeared in court after widespread domestic and international pressure, including from the US and the European Union.

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