Controversial novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has accused the European Union (EU) of using his social media platforms to attack government officials and promote certain agendas, according to a letter addressed to President Yoweri Museveni on August 1st, 2023.
In the letter, Kakwenza expressed his dismay at the situation, stating that he never anticipated living a life where his social media accounts would be used in such a manner. He admitted that, as a young, unemployed writer, he initially used his social media platforms to criticize governments and individuals for monetary gain, with no intention of meaningful communication.
“I never thought that one day I would live in unexplainable, disoriented, and almost miserable life like I am facing today,” Kakwenza adds in the letter seen by The Kampala Post that ever since he ran to exile, he lost complete control of his social media platforms to the European Union and LGBT community.
Kakwenza who is said to be living in Germany, disclosed that an agreement was signed, allowing the EU to use his Twitter handle to “raise voices of marginalized groups, including the LGBTQ+ community’
The novelist also notes that government officials such as the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and the Senior Presidential Advisor for Special Operations General Muhoozi Keinerugaba had been targeted through his X (Twitter) account.
He further stated that there were political mobilization efforts to boycott the Russia-Africa summit by prominent figures such as Raila Odinga, Tundu Lissu, and Bobi Wine.
Kakwenza also notes in the letter that other Ugandans’ accounts including those of Stella Nyanzi, Patrick Kanyomozi, and Moses Sseruga among others have also been used for the same purpose of painting a bad image of Uganda.
Additionally, this website has also seen a copy of the agreement dated 19th February 2022 between Kakwenza and the EU office in Uganda outlining the terms of the partnership. The agreement stated that Kakwenza would share his Twitter and Facebook accounts with the European Union Human Rights Commission to ‘promote the rights of vulnerable groups’ It also emphasized the need for confidentiality for mutual respect between the European Union and Uganda.
