fiction.wikisort.org - Writer

Kakwenza Rukirabashaija (born 1 October 1988) is a Ugandan novelist and lawyer.[1] He is the author of The Greedy Barbarian[2] and Banana Republic: Where Writing is Treasonous.[3] He was named the PEN 2021 Pinter International Writer of Courage Award .[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Kakwenza Rukirabashaija
Born	Kakwenza Rukirabashaija (1988-10-01) 1 October 1988 (age 34) Rukungiri District, Uganda
Occupation	Lawyer and Novelist
Nationality	Ugandan
Alma mater	Kyambogo University University of Cape Town Cavendish University Uganda
Genre	Fiction, satire
Notable works	The Greedy Barbarian (2020) Banana Republic: Where Writing is Treasonous (2020)
Notable awards	PEN Prize for international Writer of courage 2021 2022 Nominee for Disturbing Peace Award

Early life and education

Kakwenza was born on 1 October 1988 in Rukungiri District, South Western Uganda. He studied at several primary schools in the same district. He attended Kyamakanda Secondary School, Makobore High School and Kigezi College Butobere for O'level. He later joined Muyenga High School in Kampala for A'level^{[citation needed]}. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in development studies from Kyambogo University, a master's degree in journalism from the University of Cape Town[11]

Marriage

He is married to Eva Basiima.[12]

Life

On 13 April 2020, Kakwenza was arrested by security operatives from his home in Iganga and detained for publishing his first book The Greedy Barbarian[2] which they believed was about the person of President Yoweri Museveni.[13][14][15]

He was arrested again on 18 September 2020 after writing another novel, narrating his ordeal in the hands of his captors. The book is titled Banana Republic: Where Writing is Treasonous.[3][14][16]

In February 2021, Kakwenza sued the Government of Uganda for the torture he suffered at the hands of the CMI security operatives.[17][18]

On 28 December 2021 Ugandan security forces arrested Kakwenza after he had insulted Muhoozi on Twitter calling him obese and ridiculed his military training.[19][20][21] The arrest was condemned by opposition leader Bobi Wine and PEN International.[22][23][24][25] On 4 January 2022, a Ugandan court called for his release.[26] He was released for a brief home visit under armed guard that day. He showed visible signs of torture from the Ugandan police, including bloodstains on his clothing, which was removed by Kakwenza and kept by his wife. Pictures of his blood-stained clothing were uploaded to Twitter by Kiiza Eron, a Ugandan human rights lawyer.[27] Although the Judicial courts had retained his passport asserting that the premises for his request to vacate the country were weak, Kakwenza fled Uganda to neighbouring Rwanda in February 2022 fearing for his life. He arrived in Germany on 24 February 2022.[28]

Awards

• 2021 PEN Pinter Prize International Writer of Courage [29][30][31]

Publications

• The Greedy Barbarian[2]
• Banana Republic: Where Writing is Treasonous[3]

References

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