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A case against a man who allegedly circulated fake news that President Yoweri Museveni had died has been dismissed by a Luwero Chief Magistrate’s court. Since July 15, 2021, Jamir Ssekyondwa, a resident of Kabunyata trading centre in Kamira sub-county, Luwero district, has been on remand. He was arrested and charged with offending others in violation of section 25 of the Computer Misuse Act of 2011. According to the charge sheet, Ssekyondwa used his phone number 0707262*** to send messages to 0757453*** on July 5, 2021, claiming that Museveni had died when he had not. During the court hearing, Ssekyondwa pleaded guilty to the crime, and the prosecution asked the court to find him guilty. However, in his ruling, Luwero Chief Magistrate Samuel Munobe stated that the facts presented by the state do not reveal the major elements of the offence, such as repetitive communication or willfulness in such communication, and the interference with the right of privacy of the person in hearing. Munobe went on to say that the accused could not be found guilty based on these facts because it would violate the able constitution principles laid out in Article 28(12) of the Constitution of Uganda (1995) as amended, which states: Nothing in clause (l) of this article shall prevent the court or tribunal from excluding the press or the public from all or any proceedings before it for reasons of morality, public order, or national security, as may be necessary in a free and democratic society. “The facts, for that matter, do not reveal the legal offense.” Chief magistrate Munobe ruled, “The charge is dismissed, and the accused is accordingly discharged.” Ssekyondwa was taken aback by the decision and remained in the dock until the magistrate informed him that he had been released. Ssekyondwa had been on remand for eight months by the time he was released, despite the fact that the maximum sentence for the offense, if convicted, is only one year. Dorothy Mukasa, the executive director of Unwanted Witness, applauded the decision but chastised security agencies for using the Computer Misuse Act to silence Ugandans who use electronic platforms to express their views. As digital rights activists, Mukasa is concerned that the offence is selectively used to imprison people who criticize top government officials and President Museveni, but that these people never appear in court to demonstrate how their privacy has been violated. “Right now, you can’t demonstrate physically, so electronic platforms are your only option for expressing yourself.” Security organs, on the other hand, are closing the space, bringing the country to total dictatorship,” Mukasa said. And all the while, Swaibu Nsamba Gwogyolonga, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) chairperson for Katikamu South Constituency in Luwero district, is still fighting charges of offensive communication stemming from anti-Museveni Facebook posts. Nsamba was arrested in 2017 after writing a Facebook post about how he plans to announce and mourn Museveni’s death when he passes away. A Photoshopped image of Museveni and how he will appear after his death accompanied the post. He was granted Shs 50 million in non-cash bail. However, Nsamba’s case has never been resolved, and he is scheduled to appear in Magistrate Court at Buganda Road every month.
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