Who Is Vasundhara Oswal? Indo-Swiss Businesswoman Allegedly Held In Uganda

Vasundhara Oswal, a businesswoman and the daughter of renowned Indian-origin industrialist Pankaj Oswal has allegedly been illegally detained in Uganda since October 1. In an open letter to Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, the billionaire father claimed that the 26-year-old is being denied basic rights and access to family or legal representation. 

UN Appeal Filed; Why Is Vasundhara Detained?

According to EU Reporter, on October 1, Vasundhara, who is the executive director of PRO Industries, was visiting an extra-neutral alcohol (ENA) plant in Uganda when she was taken into custody without a warrant by armed men purporting to be from law enforcement authorities. Several colleagues of Vasundhara’s have also been detained, including the company’s lawyer in Uganda, Rita Ngabire. 

Pankaj Oswal claimed that Vasundhara is being held on 'false allegations' made by their former employee who stole valuables and took a $200,000 loan with the Oswal family as guarantors. He also filed an urgent appeal with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Oswal stated that Vasundhara was interrogated under degrading conditions and held without access to legal counsel or family. 

Vasundhara's mother, Radhika Oswal, also issued a heart-wrenching appeal to the Ugandan government, pleading to let them contact their daughter. "This is every mother’s nightmare. My young daughter has been thrown into a foreign jail. She has been stripped of her basic human rights and her dignity. Vasundhara is an innocent bystander. All I want is her safety, and for her to be back in my arms."

According to EU Reporter, Cherie Blair has been retained as international human rights counsel and instructed to secure Vasundhara’s release. She told the outlet, "Vasundhara is a vulnerable young woman, far from home, who is suffering an incredibly traumatic experience. Omnia Strategy has filed an urgent appeal to the UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to seek her urgent release and respect for due process and the rule of law."

The UN appeal also adds that Vasundhara is being denied access to vegetarian food 'in line with her religion' and moved from prison to prison multiple times without notice. The Oswals took over her official Instagram account to share more shocking details-- From restricting her from contacting her family and forcing her to sit in a room full of shoes over 90 hours, to forcing her to use a toilet with blood and faeces on the floor. 

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Vasundhara Oswal is known as one of Africa’s richest female entrepreneurs under the age of 30. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in Finance with Honours in Switzerland and earned impressive accolades in just a few years of being part of the business world. The youngster is the Director General of Axis Minerals, which is a bauxite mining project in Guinea. As the Executive Director (Finance) of PRO Industries, she oversees investment strategy and overall plant development.