Testimony of forced vaccination in Rwanda

They made me sit, two standing on both sides as someone swiftly got out the syringe and pushed the needle into my arm, and pumped the vaccine like the wasp pumps its venom into its prey.

In the last couple of weeks, the Central African country intensified its hunt for the unvaccinated in which thousands including Emmanuel Uwitonze in East CentralRwanda were arrested.

This is a testimony from someone who was arrested in Kayonza, East-Central Rwanda, along with several others, taken into custody, and forcibly vaccinated the following day.

My name is Emmanuel Uwitonze. I am a 29-year-old man with a bachelor's degree in paramedicine, which I attained from the University of Rwanda.

When local government officials arrested us for not being vaccinated, we argued that it is not right for someone to receive medication against their conscience.

With my background in medicine, I explained to them the rights of individuals to accept or refuse any medical treatment from a practitioner. However, the ambitious yet uneducated people in authority were not listening, and instead became extremely furious.

Authorities took us into police custody, where we spent the night.

The next morning, officials came and started taking us out one by one, vaccinating us by force—even kicking one young man in the ribs when he tried to resist.

I felt stripped of my human dignity as I was taken to be vaccinated against my will, as though I were not a human being capable of making my own decisions.

There was a tent, with two uneducated DASSOs [the DASSO is a security organ that works with the local government] standing nearby—strong, intimidating, and clearly ready to use force and their authority to force the syringe and the substance in it into my body.

They ordered me to remove my sweater and, knowing how violent the authorities can be, I did not hesitate, fearing a dangerous kick or being tied up.

I silently prayed to my God and braced myself for the force of the authorities.

They made me sit down, with a DASSO on either side, as someone swiftly pushed the syringe into my arm and pumped the vaccine in. It was as though a wasp were injecting venom into its prey.

They all laughed, scorned, and ridiculed me for having initially refused the injection, telling me I had been wasting my time.

I can’t fully describe how I felt at that moment. I felt as though my conscience had been violated and defiled. The government had entrusted people who had not even attended school—let alone studied medicine—to carry out their will upon me.

I felt stripped of the inherent value and dignity that every human being is born with. I felt utterly abandoned. I felt exposed before the entire world, drowning in shame and humiliation.

I felt like a captive in a foreign land, as though I had no country to protect me. I felt so many things.

I told one of them that, had this been a time when the international community cared, he would be charged with crimes against humanity for forcing an injection on someone who had refused it.

I don’t remember what else I said at the time. I felt as though the very essence of human conscience had become a source of disappointment.

It was the greatest violation I have ever suffered in my life, and I do not expect to endure anything more degrading than being injected with a substance against my will and conscience.

I would gladly suffer any restrictions placed on me to limit my access to services, rather than be vaccinated—until the day I genuinely feel ready to receive the injection.

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