In a ceremony organized by the Ugandan PEN/ Oxfam International, former Makerere University researcher and lecturer, Dr Stella Nyanzi collapsed on Thursday while receiving the Oxfam Novib/PEN International Award for Freedom of Expression for 2020.
During the ceremony, a subsidiary of the PEN International Nyanzi explained that while in prison something happened to her, saying she was undergoing a traumatic experience and needed some time to recover.
“I have a weak body but my mind is strong. I was boxed while in prison,” said Nyanzi during the receipt of the award. Dr Danson Sylvester, the president Ugandan PEN, said Nyanzi’s continued break downs were “the cost of freedom and part of the damage she acquired.”
During her acquitment of cyber harassment last week, Dr. Nyanzi collapsed as Uganda Prisons officials battled with her supporters who were blocking her forceful return to prison to formally sign out of Luzira prison.
The tearful Nyanzi while at Uganda Museum thanked Oxfam/PEN international for being by her side while in prison and empowering her to continue writing poems with a strong message. Nyanzi has widely written on themes of gender and sexualities, cultural development, health, and law.
