A sixth-year student at Makerere University has been sentenced to two months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of offensive communication targeting President Yoweri Museveni and Speaker of Parliament Anita Among.
Elson Tumwine pleaded guilty to creating and sharing a fake TikTok video that falsely portrayed Anita Among criticizing President Museveni’s apology to Buganda.
Tumwine, who went missing for nearly a month while undertaking his internship in Hoima, resurfaced and appeared before Grade One Magistrate Tibayeita Edgar Tusiime in Entebbe.
Initial reports indicated that Tumwine was abducted from his internship location before reappearing in Court, where he faced charges of hate speech and violations of the Computer Misuse Act.
Makerere University Student Jailed for 2 Months
He admitted in court last Friday to posting a TikTok video in May this year containing remarks considered offensive under Uganda’s Computer Misuse Act.
The prosecution contended, the 23-year-old posted a video in which he claimed that President Museveni was apologizing to the Baganda community while neglecting other regions of the country.
In the same video, he alleged that the President was responsible for the burning of thousands of people in the Teso region and the killing and dumping of victims in a swamp, allegedly with the help of Rwandese soldiers.
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“According to Anita Among and President Museveni, he has apologized to the Baganda, behaving as if that is the only part of the country he offended. Museveni burned a full train of human beings in Mukura, Teso region; a thousand people were killed and dumped in a swamp opposite Soroti University by Rwandan soldiers who came to help him,” the prosecution, led by Ahebwa Byaruhanga Paul said.
Court Arguments
The prosecution argued that the video was intended to ridicule, demean, or incite hostility against both the President and the Speaker of Parliament.
While delivering the sentence on Monday August 4, the magistrate noted that Tumwine did not waste the court’s time and had expressed remorse—factors that contributed to the decision to issue a more lenient two-month jail term.
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Tumwine now becomes the sixth TikTok user to be sentenced on similar charges involving offensive communication directed at President Museveni, his family members, or senior government officials.
In recent years, Uganda has seen a rise in cases related to online speech, with several individuals facing charges for insulting the President or his family on social media.
The government has taken steps to regulate online content, citing the need to protect public figures and maintain national security. Critics, however, argue that these measures infringe on freedom of expression and stifle dissenting voices.
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