Thursday, July 11, 2024 - A Ugandan court has sentenced a 24-year-old man to six years in prison for ‘insulting’ the president and the first family through his video posted on TikTok.
The influencer, Edward Awebwa was charged with hate speech and spreading "misleading and malicious" information against President Yoweri Museveni, First Lady Janet Museveni, and son Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is the head of the military.
Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Police Spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire stated that Awebwa shared videos mocking the president between February and March 2024.
The court also heard that Awebwa had shared abusive information, saying there would be an increase in taxes under President Museveni. He had pleaded guilty and asked for forgiveness.
The presiding magistrate said that while he had pleaded for mercy, he did not look remorseful for his actions, and the words used in the video were "really vulgar".
"The accused deserves a punishment which will enable him learn from his past so that next time he will respect the person of the president, the first lady, and the first son," Magistrate Stella Maris Amabilis said.
He was sentenced to six years for each of the four charges against him, which are to run concurrently.
This sentencing is part of a broader campaign by security agencies against people using social media to insult senior government officials.
Awebwa is one of several content creators jailed under the Computer Misuse Act of 2022 for spreading "malicious information" and "hate speech." Human rights activists have challenged this law in the Constitutional Court, calling it repressive.
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