Unpacking the detention of Indian-Swiss billionaire Pankaj Oswal’s daughter in Uganda

Vasundhara Oswal, the 26-year-old daughter of a Swiss billionaire of Indian origin Pankaj Oswal, has been detained in Uganda since October 1, under circumstances her family claims are unjust and politically motivated.

The arrest and allegations

Vasundhara, a key figure in her family’s business ventures, including PRO Industries, was in Uganda as part of the company's $100 million investment to establish East Africa’s first grain-based Extra-Neutral Alcohol (ENA) production facility. ENA is an essential component in beverages, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

On October 1, while visiting the ENA plant, Vasundhara was detained by armed men claiming to be law enforcement officers. Her family alleges that the men provided no identification or warrant, and she was taken into custody without formal charges. The company’s lawyer, Rita Ngabire, was also detained.

Pankaj Oswal, in an open letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, claimed that his daughter’s detention stemmed from false accusations made by a former employee of the Oswal family. The ex-employee had allegedly stolen valuable assets and taken a $200,000 loan with the Oswals as guarantors. Oswal asserts that this individual’s baseless accusations, motivated by a desire to avoid repayment, led to Vasundhara’s arrest.

Ex-employee Mukesh Menaria’s role

The ex-employee was Mukesh Menaria who has reportedly been known to have been working for Pankaj Oswal for many years. Menaria was allegedly kidnapped in Uganda and later smuggled into Tanzania, where he was arrested at Shaka police station near the Ugandan border. His family confirmed the arrest with a local media house.

Menaria’s arrest followed Pankaj Oswal’s open letter, in which Oswal accused extortionists of blackmailing him, leading to the arrest of his daughter, Vasundhara, and lawyer Rita Ngabire. On October 9, both Vasundhara and Ngabire were formally remanded to Nakasongola prison on charges of kidnapping Menaria with the intent to kill.

Conditions in detention and legal struggles

Since her detention, Vasundhara has reportedly endured harsh and dangerous conditions in prison. Suffering from underlying health issues, she has been forced to live in unsanitary environments lacking access to hygienic water and proper facilities. Her family claims she has been moved between prisons without notice, complicating their efforts to contact her or provide legal support. Additionally, she has been denied vegetarian food and has shared a cramped room with multiple convicted criminals.

The family has taken to social media to highlight her ordeal, revealing that she was held in a room filled with shoes for over 90 hours and subjected to unhygienic facilities.

The Oswal family further has reportedly retained renowned human rights lawyer Cherie Blair, CBE, KC, whose firm, Omnia Strategy, has also filed an urgent appeal to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), seeking international intervention in his daughter’s case on Pankaj’s behalf.

Prison officials challenge Oswal’s claims

On October 13, Uganda’s prison authorities responded to Oswal’s claims that he had spent 370 million shillings to improve his daughter’s conditions while in custody. Frank Baine, representing Uganda Prisons, asked Oswal to provide proof of the payments and identify who had received the money. Baine also dismissed Oswal’s allegations of mistreatment, stating that Vasundhara’s cleaning duties during detention did not violate her rights.

Fractured Ties: The Oswals and Uganda

PRO Industries, the company behind the new ENA factory, condemned her detention, calling the charges “fantastical” and demanding her immediate release.

The Oswal family made a public appeal shortly after her arrest. Her mother, Radhika Oswal, voiced the family’s anguish, stating, “This is every mother’s nightmare. My young daughter has been thrown into a foreign jail and stripped of her basic human rights. All I want is her safety and for her to be back in my arms.” Human rights lawyer Cherie Blair, who is representing the family, described Vasundhara's situation as a violation of international, continental, and domestic laws, calling it a “manifest breach of her human rights.”

The Oswal family, who had intended to invest USD 150 million in the new alcohol production (ENA) plant in Uganda, has reportedly put their business plans on hold until Vasundhara's situation is resolved.

Despite a court order for her unconditional release, Ugandan authorities have allegedly imposed additional charges to prevent Vasundhara from securing bail, citing claims of political and corporate manipulation by the family.

This isn’t the first time the Oswal family has faced allegations of corporate misconduct. In 2016, Pankaj Oswal and his family were accused of syphoning off $150 million in company funds. The allegations involved spending on personal ventures, including their Dalkeith home, the construction of the unfinished 'Taj on the Swan,' and Radhika Oswal’s restaurant chain. These claims were related to Pankaj’s Australia-based business, Burrup Fertilisers.

The Affluent Oswals

Led by industrialist Pankaj Oswal, the Oswal family is known not merely for its petrochemicals businesses in the African continent but also for their luxurious lifestyle.

Pankaj, the son of Abhay Kumar Oswal, founder of Oswal Agro Mills, expanded the family empire into various sectors, including petrochemicals, real estate, fertilisers, and mining.

Recently the family was in the news for the purchase of their Villa Vari, a 4.3 lakh square foot estate in Switzerland acquired for a staggering $200 million (roughly ₹1649 crore), further cementing the Oswals’ status among the world's wealthiest families.

Vasundhara Oswal, the Executive director of the group’s subsidiary PRO Industries, plays a key role in sustainability initiatives within PRO Industries and Axis Minerals. Meanwhile, her younger sister, Ridi Oswal, is a singer-songwriter.