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Why Twitter suspended Kakwenza’s account
This photo combination created on February 14, 2022 shows screenshots of author, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija's authentic account (left) and the alleged parody account (right). PHOTO/COURTESY.
What you need to know:
- Kakweza’s account which by the time of suspension had over 28,500 followers is not verified by Twitter. The new account opened in his name had over 470 followers by the time of filing this story.
American microblogging and social networking service, Twitter over the weekend suspended the account of prominent Ugandan author, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija.
Rukirabashaija, an internationally acclaimed writer was suspended after someone allegedly reported his account.
According to the novelist who is currently in exile, someone used his profile details to open another account and reported his authentic account.
Rukirabashaija’s account which by the time of suspension had over 28,500 followers is not verified by Twitter. The new account opened in his name had over 470 followers by the time of filing this story.
“Someone opened an account using my names and then used it to report mine as an impersonator. I'm currently not using Twitter because my account was suspended on allegations of impersonating a notable person (me). That I impersonated myself. Someone opened an account using my names and then used it to report mine as an impersonator,” Rukirabashaija said in a statement on his Facebook wall, adding that he’s working with Twitter team to have his account restored and several others which are masquerading as him, removed.
“I'm taking a break from social media with itching fingers but surely I'm returning soon,” he added.
The novelist was arrested shortly after Christmas over a series of unflattering social media posts about veteran President Museveni and his powerful son Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
The 33-year-old said he was tortured by his interrogators during his detention in a case that has triggered international alarm.
Rukirabashaija appeared on television two weeks ago to reveal welts criss-crossing his back and scars on other parts of his body.
He said military officers beat him, forced him to dance for hours at times, tore at his flesh with pliers and injected him repeatedly with an unknown substance.
The novelist fled the country on February 9 saying he wanted to seek treatment abroad for his injuries.
"Instead of prosecuting their critics over tweets, the Ugandan authorities should be investigating this and many other serious allegations of torture by state security in recent years," said Human Rights watch (HRW) researcher Oryem Nyeko last week.
Uganda has witnessed a series of crackdowns aimed at stamping out dissent, with journalists attacked, lawyers jailed, election monitors prosecuted and opposition leaders violently muzzled.
Activists have been repeatedly targeted using the strict Computer Misuse Act which was used against Rukirabashaija and which carries heavy penalties, including jail time.
Outspoken Ugandan activist and writer Stella Nyanzi, who fled to Germany earlier this year, was imprisoned in 2019 under the same law after posting a profane poem about Museveni.
Ugandan authorities "should end the criminalisation of protected speech online and offline and address legitimate concerns raised by critics instead of persecuting them", said HRW's Nyeko.
Rukirabashaija won acclaim for his 2020 satirical novel "The Greedy Barbarian", which describes high-level corruption in a fictional country and was awarded the 2021 PEN Pinter Prize for an International Writer of Courage.
Rukirabashaija has been repeatedly arrested since "The Greedy Barbarian" was published and said he was previously tortured while being interrogated by military intelligence.
