Exiled Ugandan scholar and activist Stella Nyanzi has defied demands from PEN Germany to delete a letter she publicised about the marital troubles of fellow exile Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, escalating a row over free expression.
For weeks, Nyanzi has been posting about the strained relationship between Kakwenza and his wife, Eva Basiima, who has been living with their children in housing provided by PEN Germany under its Writers-in-Exile Programme.
The dispute took a legal turn when PEN Germany’s vice president, Astrid Vehstedt, wrote to Nyanzi, asking her to remove a letter she had shared regarding Basiima’s residency status at the organisation’s rented flat.
Vehstedt argued that by publishing the document, Nyanzi had violated German privacy laws by exposing the names and signatures of officials without their consent.
“You cannot upload official documents without the permission of those involved,” she wrote, adding that Nyanzi’s actions had also retraumatised another scholar in the programme by making her a public spectacle.
Despite repeated requests, Nyanzi refused to comply, declaring that she never takes down posts, even under state persecution in Uganda.
“I hate it when anyone orders (and then pesters) me about a post I have written against abusers,” she said, insisting that Basiima had authorised her to publicise the letter.
Nyanzi accused PEN Germany of hypocrisy, arguing that an organisation committed to free expression should not be censoring her.
“The irony of this all is that all chapters of PEN International are governed and guided by the PEN Charter, which is premised on freedom of expression and abhors any form of censorship,” she said.
Vehstedt, citing European privacy laws, warned that legal action had already been initiated against Nyanzi for her defiance. But Nyanzi remained unmoved.
“Let us meet in court. If I am found guilty, I will happily serve the prison sentence,” she declared, adding that Kakwenza must take responsibility for his wife and children.
With both sides digging in, the clash between Nyanzi and PEN Germany appears far from over, testing the limits of free speech and privacy protections in the country that now hosts them both.
Meanwhile, Nyanzi on Wednesday, March 2 revealed that she and an official at PEN Germany had unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Basiima to divorce the father of her children in exchange for asylum as an abandoned mother.
Nyanzi recounted that in June 2023, during a time when Basiima was struggling with early pregnancy complications and raising three children alone while her husband was away in Bavaria, she found the vice president of PEN Germany and another official at Basiima’s home.
After they left, Basiima confided in her that the officials had offered to help her secure asylum and accommodation—on condition that she agreed to separate from her husband.
While Nyanzi initially encouraged her to consider the offer, believing it to be in her best interest given Kakwenza’s alleged infidelities, Basiima ultimately refused, unwilling to end her marriage for asylum benefits.
"When she returned home [from her father's funeral in Busoga], she reported to her husband that the Vice President of PEN visited and advised her to leave her husband as a condition for support with her asylum application and access to a home in Bavaria," Nyanzi said.
"She also reported me to her husband, for encouraging and advising her to take up the offer extended by the vice president. I became their chief enemy for the whole of that summer."
Nyanzi has claimed on social media that she has been publicising the Kakwenza family issues with the full consent of Basiima but she does not expressly indicate whether it is reconciliation she seeks or an asylum for her.