Joined February 2010
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4 Mar 2025
This morning, @PoliceUg assaulted my good friend, workmate and @933kfm Producer @MbiddeOn outside Wandegeya Police station. He was simply doing his job , recording for #MorningAtNTV . @MbiddeOn is the most humble, respectful, kindest soul you will ever know.
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QUOTE: "Freedom of speech is a right of the people and not a favour from the [Ugandan] government."- Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at UNLF public rally. Uganda Times, February 28, 1980
#JournalismIsNotAcrime
#BoldVoices
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judith atim retweeted
Jun 15
Michelle Obama said: 'You know how long I've been wanting this woman to do something with and for me?'
This was not a random commission. Michelle specifically wanted Njideka. A Nigerian woman was Michelle Obama's personal choice.
Here is the detail that most people are missing in this story.
The Obama Foundation commissioned many artists for the Presidential Center.
Lorna Simpson. Jeffrey Gibson. Martin Puryear. Rashid Johnson.
Giants of contemporary art.
But for the first official joint portrait, the centrepiece, the one that hangs in the lobby where every visitor enters for free?
Michelle Obama wanted Njideka Akunyili Crosby.
Specifically.
Not because the Foundation suggested her.
Not because she was next on a shortlist.
Because Michelle had been following her work. Watching her career. Waiting for the right moment.
"You know how long I've been wanting this woman to do something with and for me?"
That's not a courtesy comment.
That's a woman who found another woman's work and held onto it.
Who watched a Nigerian-born artist navigate the most prestigious art institutions in the world and thought: when I need someone for the most important portrait of my life, it's her.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby didn't just earn the commission.
She earned the respect of Michelle Obama.
Those are two very different things.
And both matter enormously.
Jun 15
When Barack Obama saw his portrait for the first time, he joked about his grey hair.
Then he pointed to his painted suit and said: 'I'm going to have one made just like it.'
A former US President. Starstruck by a Nigerian woman's art.
June 14, 2026. Chicago.
A private room at the Obama Presidential Center.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby stands to one side.
Barack and Michelle Obama walk in.
They see it.
Michelle says: "It's us!"
Then silence. Barack Obama, former President of the United States, constitutional law professor, Nobel Peace Prize winner, the most powerful man in the world for eight years, stands quietly and just looks.
"Before we get any commentary in," he says, "we've just got to soak it in."
Then his eyes settle on his painted face. His silver hair.
And he cracks:
"My only real question is, how come you didn't dye my hair? Don't they usually touch it up a little?"
Njideka laughs: "I thought about it!"
He points to his painted suit, a rich, patterned fabric woven into the canvas.
"In fact, I'm going to have a suit made with this pattern."
And then Michelle Obama turned to the room and said:
"You know how long I've been wanting this woman to do something with and for me? It was an honour. I mean, we did it."
Michelle Obama had wanted Njideka Akunyili Crosby specifically.
Not any artist.
Her.
A girl from Enugu.
At the most important cultural institution of the Obama legacy.
Nigeria was in that room.
Nigeria was on that wall.
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@PoliceUg Is it safe to assume youāre going to do absolutely nothing about Erias Lukwago? The person who abducted him has confessed to it & even shared pictures. At what point do we as citizens believe that you actually care about the citizenry & not just serving the regime? š
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judith atim retweeted
The @ealawsociety expresses grave
concern over the reported forcible removal and apparent detention of Hon. @EriasLukwago, a Senior Advocate and member of both the @ug_lawsociety and the EALS, by Uganda military personnel.
Below is our statement calling for his immediate release.
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judith atim retweeted
Jun 15
Michelle Obamaās reaction to seeing their potraitāpriceless š
Retweet if you support Michelle Obama šš
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judith atim retweeted
It is rare to see Black female PhDs in Pure Mathematics, making this historic & inspiring.
Meet Dr Gugu Nogwebela from South Africa šæš¦, with:
BSc in Mathematics, Statistics and Economics
BSc Hons in Pure Mathematics
Masters in Pure Maths (cum laude)
PhD in Pure Mathematics
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judith atim retweeted
I have received the summon letter that was meant for Muhozi. I am currently on my way to deliver it to him.
I will also deliver 6 copies of the letter to the following locations:
His home
His parentsā home
UPDF Hdtrs
PLU Hdqtrs
Butabiika Hospital
His X account.
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Beautiful story. Lesson: Allow your children the freedom to choose their own paths
Jun 15
Njideka Akunyili Crosby's family wanted her to study medicine.
Her father was a surgeon. Her mother a professor of pharmacology.
One painting class at a Philadelphia community college changed everything.
The Akunyili household in Enugu had a language.
That language was medicine.
Father: Chike Akunyili. Surgeon.
Mother: Dora Akunyili. Pharmacology professor. Future NAFDAC Director General.
Six children. All expected to follow the path.
Njideka followed it, until she didn't.
She arrived in America at 16. Did her gap year. Returned to Nigeria. Completed National Youth Service. Came back to Philadelphia.
And walked into a community college classroom.
First oil painting class.
Something happened that no biology textbook could explain.
Her teacher Jeff Reed saw it immediately.
He said: you should apply to Swarthmore College.
She applied.
She got in.
She studied biology AND art, a compromise for the family, a revelation for herself.
At Swarthmore she met Justin Crosby, the Texas artist who would become her husband.
She went to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Then Yale for her MFA.
The family that produced a surgeon, a pharmacology professor, and Nigeria's greatest drug regulator also produced the woman who would paint the Obamas' first official joint portrait.
They all had the same thing in common:
A commitment to doing something that matters.
The tools were different.
The impact is comparable.
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It was a long and difficult night. I'm sure many of you couldn't sleep too, and if you did, it was for a very short time. I kept thinking of the kind of suffering and monstrosity unleashed on @EriasLukwago . May God see him through. May the God of vengeance pay back.
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judith atim retweeted
Jun 15
It was great joining Njideka Akunyili Crosby ā a gifted Nigerian-born, Los Angeles-based artist ā to unveil our first portrait together. This piece reflects so many chapters of Michelle and my story, and weāre thrilled that it will be on display in the Hope and Change lobby at the Obama Presidential Center starting this Juneteenth.
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judith atim retweeted
Ssemujju to Muhoozi: Iām not afraid of you; youāre not immortal
"So yes, I can feel pain. I can experience fear like any normal human being. But I will not lose sleep over Muhoozi. Let him come and arrest me. No problem.
Because after arresting me, will he become immortal?
Will he become an angel whom nobody can ever arrest?
Will he never fall sick?
Will even malaria become afraid to attack him?
Let Ugandans stop being excessively afraid of Muhoozi. Muhoozi has a duty to serve the interests of Ugandans, not his personal interests. Taxpayers pay him, and those taxpayers have every right to hold him accountable. So whatever he says, I care less."
observer.ug/news/ssemujju-toā¦
š¹@BakerbatteLule
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judith atim retweeted
As a transitional justice expert, Iām familiar with this kind of silence. Itās not that people canāt see whatās wrong, no. itās the deep pain theyāre carrying that keeps them quiet. Itās easy to mistake that silence for peace, but itās not. Itās tension building beneath the surface. Then one day, something seemingly small, like the price of bread going up triggers an explosion. Thatās how dangerous years of bottled-up anger can be. The English call it āthe calm before the storm.ā Ate awo babera tebakyafugika.
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judith atim retweeted
Jun 15
Can't pray for your safety; your abductors certainly haven't taken you to keep you safe. But I pray that you survive the ordeal and come back in one piece! #FreeEriasLukwago
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judith atim retweeted
Jun 15
The act of intimidation, harassment and obstruction of a lawyer in the discharge of his professional duties is unconstitutional.Under Article 208(2),the army is subordinate to civilian authority & has no role whatsoever in intimidating or arresting members of the Bar for performing their constitutional duties.This action further violates Articles 20, 40(2), and 221 of the Constitution, as well as the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (Principles 16, 18 & 23) and the IBA Standards on the Independence of the Legal Profession. It is a direct assault on the rule of law & constitutional order.
An attack on one advocate is an attack on the entire Bar and on the rule of law itself.
##Demilitarisation
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judith atim retweeted
Jun 15
š I endorse a nationwide lawyersā sit down strike in solidarity with our abducted comrade @EriasLukwago_. @ug_lawsociety letās know when and for how long. The very existence of the legal profession is in jeopardy.
Jun 15
The abduction of an unarmed lawyer and political leader using masked solders with massive firepower is intended to send signals to the legal fraternity to stay away from standing up for what is right. @ug_lawsociety you still have sit down strikes as a weapon. Time for action!
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judith atim retweeted
Jun 15
On the 27th day of September 2010, The UN Humans Rights Council under Resolution A/HRC/15/L.16 called upon States to protect judges, lawyers, prosecutors and their families against violence, threats, retaliation, discrimination, interference and harassment as a result of discharging their functions!
Therefore the state of Uganda is expected to respect the UN Resolutions and protect the rights of Lawyers.
This is to call upon the State of Uganda to release Hon. Counsel @EriasLukwago_ incase his arrest is as a result of discharging his Proffessional legal functions to Dr Kiiza Besigye & Ors.
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judith atim retweeted
Jun 15
Did we misread @KagutaMuseveni @StateHouseUg instructions for KISANJA NO MORE SLEEP?
WHO is supposed to lose sleep; the leaders or the people? What is the fate of rule of law and the constitution in this KISANJA NO MORE SLEEP? @MichealOboth1 @Thomas_Tayebwa @JaneRuth_Aceng @JoelSsenyonyi #RuleOfLawUG
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judith atim retweeted
Jun 15
Ugandans are here today because those in power resisted atrocities of those who were in power before them. Ugandans will remain in this state of affairs because they glorify, they refuse and they are afraid to resist the atrocities of those in power today.
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judith atim retweeted
"Laws are flouted, morality cast aside, evil is praised and defended robustly. We are at the stage where almost anything goes...; the moral fabric of society is destroyed. It is easy to see that this is right where we are today." RayStedman #Uganda
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judith atim retweeted
Weāll not reshare the torture images of @EriasLukwago, as to do so would be to further the interest of the folks carrying out the unlawful actions and to perpetuate his undignified and humiliating treatment.
Weāll say, though, that such actions are a daylight manifestation of the state of our country, captive to the shallow interest of a small clique to whom the law is a suggestion, rather than a command.
You humiliate the man, torture him, but youāll never match the power of his ideas; the high moral grounds on which he stands will be a summit you will only glance from afar.
Weād demand that he be set free or taken to court through a lawful process if he has committed any crime, but i doubt youāll heed to such calls. It is out of your grapes. So we will only ask that when you have satisfied your cheap desires, leave him alive to return to his family, cause, and country. Heāll meet and vanquish you in the arena of ideas, law, and morality.
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