Andrew Mwenda, a 35-year-old Ugandan journalist and former Knight Fellow, was arrested on April 26 after investigating allegations of torture at the hands of the Ugandan government. Though Mwenda is currently out on bail, he could face up to 75 years in prison for 15 counts of “sedition” and “promoting sectarianism,” according to his lawyer.

Mwenda’s spent the 2006-2007 school year at Stanford after being awarded one of the John S. Knight Fellowships for Professional Journalists, which give mid-career journalists the opportunity to study at the University. Twelve journalists from the United States and eight from other countries are chosen.

“Mwenda got started [in journalism] when he was in university,” Fellowship Director Jim Bettinger said. “He’s always been interested in political journalism.”

Mwenda was a long-time reporter and writer for The Monitor, a national Ugandan newspaper. He had a nightly political call-in talk show called Andrew Mwenda Live — the most listened-to program in Uganda, according to Bettinger.

In December 2007, Mwenda started The Independent, a bimonthly newspaper out of Kampala, Uganda. On its Web site, The Independent boasts: “Uncensored News, Views & Analysis.”

It was this uncensored news that led to Mwenda’s arrest.

Mwenda and fellow journalists had interviewed detainees held by the government in Kampala and around the country.

“We interviewed 17 people who were arrested and detained for years in [secret] prisons euphemistically called safe houses,” Mwenda wrote in a May 2 email to Bettinger.

After learning of his investigation, Uganda’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) set out to arrest Mwenda and two other Independent journalists. In the process, they searched his house and ransacked The Independent office for offending materials.

Gaaki Kigambo wrote an article for The Independent about Mwenda’s arrest entitled “Andrew Mwenda detained.”

“At his house, the police confiscated his lap-top, flash disks, 43 CDs full of information,” Kigambo wrote. “The team is searching for seditious material that the publication is in possession of; transcripts and audios of interviews of alleged torture victims.”

In the article, Mwenda described his arrest.

“There were not witnesses around,” he said. “I realized the state wanted me to disappear without a trace. So I opened the car window and shouted at people along the road that I was Andrew Mwenda being kidnapped by CMI. At this point, the security operatives pulled me back and this time handcuffed me so that I do not cause more trouble.”

Mwenda updated Bettinger on his current situation in the May 2 email.

“Now they are trying to stop us from printing the stories through this intimidation, but we have firmly held our ground,” he wrote. “We are very strong and determined to defend the cause of liberty in this country — even if it means forgoing our freedom (by going to jail) or our lives (if they kill us).”

He now reports every other day to the police, although as of yet there are no formal charges against him.

“The state seems determined and resolved to do us harm,” Mwenda said in the email. “But we are also determined and deeply resolved to hold the fort of democracy and defend it with tenacious zeal.”

Bettinger said he was proud of Mwenda’s strength.

“I think he’s a very courageous man, and this kind of outrage is unconscionable,” Bettinger said.

Mwenda gave further instructions to Bettinger in his email.

“To all those you are talking to, inform them that there are people here in Africa determined to make a difference in their country — whatever the cost,” he said. “The consequences on us as individuals are not particularly important and should not obscure the cause we are fighting for. The fundamental issue of contention is not our personal safety, but the future of liberty and freedom in Uganda.”