Andrew Mwenda: "Y'all Western Bookeristas Think You've Got It Rough? I've Got A Court Date For Sedition...Again"

Andrew Mwenda, the libertarian founder and managing editor of The Independent, was summoned today to the Police CID (Criminal Investigation Department) along with two of his editors for further questioning about a "seditious" cartoon that was published in the magazine. All three men were ordered to appear in court tomorrow, Wednesday September 23rd, and will most likely be charged with sedition. However, the charge of sedition has been constitutionally challenged and all previous court cases involving sedition have been temporarily suspended pending the constitutional review.

On August 28, Mr. Mwenda and his editors were arrested and charged with sedition for publishing a critical caricature of President Museveni. The cartoon suggested that the ruling party – the National Resistance Movement, NRM – was preparing for widespread fraud in the 2010/2011 elections. The men were later released on bail, and thus tomorrow's court hearing.

As regular Booker Rising readers should know, Mr. Mwenda is a vociferous critic of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his spending habits. He writes articles about government corruption and competence, questioning whether the First Family was fleecing Ugandan taxpayers through their extravagant lifestyle. He is also one of Africa's staunchest folks who declare that Western foreign aid been largely been unhelpful for African development, arguing that it fuels corrupt states and sustains wars. Here are a few of Booker Rising's past posts about Mr. Mwenda's clashes with the government.

Some readers of The Independent have come to his defense. OJA writes: "The current regime in Kampala is very nervous and reacts like a person with a bipolar behaviour! But they are nervous more so because they've done and continue to do so much evil that they don't want it to be talked about. Anything that touches them distorts their mental, psychological and social equilibrium. When one critically analyses [sic] events in the country, e.g., closing of radio stations, warning, summoning of journalists, threatening newspapers with closures, stopping peaceful demonstrations, so to say, limiting freedom of expression, then one can almost conclude that NRM is on its way out of office. Their days look more than numbered. All these actions and those yet to come may be showing the last kicks of a dying horse!"

In a post titled "Yes we can", Chris writes: "I think Ugandans should wake up and tell Museveni enough is enough and that he has outlived his usefulness and is now causing more harm than good, don’t we have more brains in Uganda better than the so call[ed] visionary Museveni?"