By Ruth Anderah
Buganda Road Court has declined to release novelist Kakweza RukiraBashaija’s passport for travel to Germany where he was set to collect his writer’s award and to receive proper treatment for the alleged torture.
Trial Chief Magistrate Douglas Singiza has ruled that he has found no merit in Kakweza’s application to access his passport because he does not need to travel to Germany to attend his award ceremony as this can be done virtually.
Singiza has added that Kakweza suffers no serious sickness to warrant seeking specialized treatment abroad since there is even no evidence from any witness to support his torture allegations as all that court has is evidence of his lawyer.
He has thus dismissed Kakweza’s application to have proceedings in the case stayed and have the file referred to the High Court to have the torture allegations investigated.
Kakweza’s passport was deposited in court as a condition for release on bail for offenses of offensive communication against the person of president Museveni and his son Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Kakweza allegedly uploaded a tweet on his official twitter handle ” Kakweza Rukira@kakwezarukira” which the prosecution says was meant to disturb the peace of the president and that of his son Muhoozi.
He denied the 2 counts that the state says contravenes section 25 of the Computer Misuse Act which he allegedly committed on 24 and 28th December 2021.
