Commenting on the circumstances that led to the detention of satirical Novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, RX Radio presenter Olive Najjuma has questioned what is and what is not regarded as offensive communication.
This was during The Fatboy Show on Monday morning as the Presenters Olive Najjuma and James Onen commonly known as Fatboy, commented on the remarks made by the unapologetic novelist who vowed to continue with his writings despite spending weeks in custody.
Kakwenza was arrested on December 28, 2021 and detained at Kitalya prison after he made unkind tweets that were directed at President Museveni and the first son Lt. Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Appearing on a local television, the novelist claimed that he had been subjected to torture during his time in detention, leaving his body in severe pain with damage to his ribs and kidney. However, he also vowed to keep criticizing the government through his writing.
“I think what we are looking at here is the freedom of speech. When do we draw the line as regards to what someone says and where they stop? Should he go on and insult other people? And is it okay for persons that have allegedly insulted others to be ‘kidnapped’ and not produced in court within 48 hours as the law stipulates?” Olive asked.
Fatboy, in response, commented that Kakwenza, like other government critics such as Stella Nyanzi, can easily secure asylum in other countries even though this doesn’t seem a choice he is interested in taking. “Well if he plans to keep unleashing fire on Twitter, I worry about what will happen next,” said Fatboy.
“But let's be fair, what qualifies as cyber bullying? Aren’t people being a little too sensitive?” Olive probed. Fatboy also sensed that the attention Muhoozi gave to Kakwenza was elevating the novelist’s public image, while destroying his.
“Given that Muhoozi is trying to position himself as a statesman, and present an image of what he’s clearly going for, I would suggest that he ignores Kakwenza. Because from Muhoozi’s perspective, it's the attention that he gives Kakwenza that ruins his image and makes Kakwenza more powerful. So if Kakwenza goes on spilling more obscene insults, Muhoozi is better off just ignoring him,” Fatboy reasoned.
Olive, contending with Fatboy, said that Muhoozi could emulate his father who has always ignored such criticism, despite being insulted on several occasions.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, Sarah and Lesham every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.