A Ugandan court has sentenced a 21-year-old content creator for urging the public flogging of President Yoweri Museveni on TikTok. He is the fourth individual to be detained in the past two days for insulting President Museveni and his family.
Ugandans have always found themselves on the wrong side of the law whenever they speak up on crucial issues around the country’s leadership, the President, and his family on social media platforms and in this case TikTok.
At least four TikTokers in Uganda have been recently arrested. The influencers reportedly shared content on the social media platform which the prosecutors alleged was intended to “ridicule, degrade, demean, and promote hostility” toward the first family and others linked to the ruling party.
They face the charges of hate speech and spreading “malicious information” against President Yoweri Museveni and his family. This sentencing and arrests are part of a broader campaign by security agencies in Uganda to crack down on people using social media to insult senior government officials.
A publication by the BBC on November 12, indicated that Magistrate Stella Amabilis took to remand 21-year-old David Ssengozi aka Lucky Choice, and Isaiah Seshagiri, 28, to Kigo prison.
The two were charged alongside Julius Tayebwa, 19, who had earlier been presented before the court detained for the outlined offences. The magistrate ordered the detention to allow for more inquiries and were expected to appear yesterday November 13, for the second mention of the case.
Also Read: Ugandan author accused of insulting ruling family freed: lawyer
Police Spokesman Warn Against Individuals Abusing Museveni
At the same time, in September, the media reports captured the Ugandan police spokesman Rusoke Kituuma issued a warning against those individuals abusing President Yoweri Museveni.
According to the media reports he termed the President a “fountain of honour’ and abusing him was a crime of no lesser magnitude. Additionally, as he issued the warning, he mentioned Lucky Choice a TikToker who was later arrested.
However, the specific post that led to the arrest is not yet disclosed although in April an account named Lucky Choice 70 released a video titled “My First Enemies” which is reported to have criticized the First Lady using sexually explicit lexical.
Similarly, in July, a man 24-year-old was sentenced to six years in prison for insulting the president and the first family in a TikTok video. He pleaded guilty and requested forgiveness.
Also Read: Ugandan writer held for offending ruling family granted bail
The Ugandan Parliament Criticized
The Government of Uganda has severally received criticism from the United States (US) for restricting the citizens’ internet freedom through the various punishments of imprisonment.
Additionally, several human rights organizations have voiced concerns over Ugandan authorities’ violations of citizens’ freedom of expression.
With these strict measures in place, Ugandan citizens must tread carefully with their words to avoid legal repercussions.
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