In a country where so many have buried loved ones, fled persecution or lived under fear you cannot expect people to read your posts in isolation from that reality. They won't and frankly, they shouldn't. You can write paragraphs about online bullies and hate watchers but
As an ex-political-prisoner, I can only imagine what Dr Miria Mirembe underwent last night. For many elite women in Uganda, it is shameful to go to prison - any prison, let alone Luzira Women Prison. The shame surrounding imprisonment is much worse for those who are role models, elders, authority figures, mothers, wives and those who are religious. It takes a lot of hard work on oneself to refuse the shame projected on prisoners.
The first day and night at Luzira is the worst experience for most women. The drive from court to prison is terrible. The fear of what will be done to them in prison, combines with worries about household dependents left back home. Entering the prison grounds is like entering a monster. The shame of totally undressing in order to change into a prison uniform breaks many adults. The mandatory demand to remove all underwear and spread the legs for inspection by prison wardresses totally humiliates the new prisoner. I witnessed many crying with shame at this point.
The ward one is assigned in Luzira Women’s Prison determines how the entire experience as a prisoner will proceed. Many loud political prisoners on remand are assigned to the notorious Ward 2 in order to subdue them. If they are perceived to be calmer and without need of taming, then they are assigned to Ward 1. If they are wealthy, they are assigned to Ward 5 where dealers go. If they are ill and wealthy, they might sleep in the Sick Bay with several prisoners who are either ill, pregnant or new mothers.
Entering the ward is a shock to all sensibilities! The congestion of women prisoners sitting jam-packed on the floor is terrorising. One is shoved inside. The doors are banged shut and locked from outside. One has to proceed through the stuffy ward in order to find a spot to sit. Often, there is space only next to the smelly squat toilets. Most prisoners without a personal mattress brought from home must sleep on the hard cement floor of the prison ward. A thin grey blanket is given, if available. Most prisoners without a bucket from home must bathe from the shared prison buckets. Most prisoners without food from home must sleep on an empty stomach and await porridge at about 10:00AM thebfolloqijg morning.
I wonder where Dr Miria Matembe slept last night. I wonder what she ate for supper last night. I wonder if she was able to bathe in the prison bathrooms last night. I wonder whether she was given an old or new prison uniform. I wonder whether she was given support for her painful back and shoulder.
In Museveni’s military dictatorship, prison is the second home of every critic! Rather than a shame, being a political prisoner is an honour. Yes, it is an honour to go to prison for questioning or criticising the failures and excesses of Uganda’s misrulers.
40 Defiant Besigye lawyers hav sued @mkainerugaba again, accusing him of harassment, abducting counsel @EriasLukwago and deporting their lead counsel @MarthaKarua. Case was filed today at high court, it's signed by 12 law firms. New summons loading, 40 lawyers to the basement.
When Hon. Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo took to the podium at the Uganda Media Centre, the optics were classic statecraft: a benevolent government deploying Uganda Airlines to rescue 746 citizens from the brutal, xenophobic streets of South Africa. We mourned the tragic loss of a Ugandan life in KwaZulu-Natal. We cheered the logistics of rescue.
But look beneath the machinery. Where exactly are these Ugandans being flown to?
They are fleeing an environment where vigilantes threaten their physical safety, only to land in a country where the military raids Nation Media Group facilities and locks up institutional icons like Miria Matembe. The profound irony is staggering: our citizens are running from freelance violence abroad straight into structured, state-sponsored silence at home. If the host nation is burning and the home nation is a cage, where is the true exit?
Mr. Museveni has conguratulated his wife on her 78 birthday and wished her quick recovery; the first time he speaks about her sickness. I join him in conguratulating Maama. You know @JanetMuseveni has been my colleague in Parliament for 15 years. But can I ask @KagutaMuseveni politely? Why did you appoint your aged and sick wife to an important ministry that takes care of over 12 million Ugandans? There are two million children in secondary and about 10m in primary. Was the appointment recommended by doctors as a therapy.