The Executive Council of the African Literature Association stands in support of Ugandan novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, author of The Greedy Barbarian and Banana Republic: Where Writing is Treasonous, and 2021 recipient of the PEN 2021 Pinter International Writer of Courage Award. Charged with insulting President Yoweri Museveni, Rukirabashaija has fled Uganda and is seeking medical treatment abroad for injuries endured during his recent detention. We concur with Human Rights Watch: “Ugandan authorities should urgently investigate reports that military officers tortured the exiled satirical writer and government critic Kakwenza Rukirabashaija while he was forcibly disappeared for 14 days. The authorities should unconditionally drop any charges against the author and ensure that all security officials implicated in his torture and enforced disappearance are held to account.”
