An award-winning Ugandan author who fled the country after being charged with insulting President Yoweri Museveni and his son told AFP Wednesday that he was “relieved” to be in Germany for medical treatment after being “tortured” in jail.
Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was detained shortly after Christmas and later charged with “offensive communication” in a case that has raised international concern, with the European Union and the United States calling for his release.
After arriving in Germany on Wednesday, the novelist told AFP about his relief at being saved “from the mouth of the crocodile.”
“I wasn’t safe in Africa since dictators work together to deport dissidents. Now that I’m in Germany, I feel really protected,” he said in a WhatsApp message.
Rukirabashaija, 33, slipped out of Uganda two weeks ago – after a court denied his application to have his passport returned – ahead of a criminal trial that was due
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