By Hannah Marion Namukasa
Following Uganda’ President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni signing of the controversial Computer Misuse (Amendment) Bill 2022 into law, Journalists through their umbrella body the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) have revealed that they will not only challenge the act in courts of law but will also stage massive peaceful demonstrations.
According to the press statement issued on Saturday by UJA president Mathias Rukundo the Act is a bad law which was passed in bad faith to gag free speech and expression by the Media (Journalists) which is guaranteed under Article 29(1)a of the Constitution.
“We shall challenge it by seeking the Constitutional Court interpretation in respect to its clauses that contravene the Constitution.
We shall use peaceful lawful demonstrations to move all the responsible actors and authorities subject it back to further amendments to save our noble profession which is a corner stone to realization of a democratic society.” Read the statement
Rukundo cited out section 12 of the Amended Act, which states that a person who without authorization accesses another person’s information or data, voice or video records and shares them relating to another, commits an offence fineable with 750 currency points (over 9millions) or imprisonment of not less than 10 years. He says that alone annihilates the core principle of independent and investigative Journalism upon which the Journalism profession is premised.
He added that the law also contravenes Article 40(2) of the Constitution which provides for practice of a profession and Article 19 of the International Universal Declaration of Human Rights which provides for a right and freedom of expression to opinion without interference by governments including Uganda’s as a UN member.
He further said while the Act purports to provide cure against violation of enjoyment of the Constitutional right to privacy and Children’s right by restraining sharing of unsolicited, false, malicious, hateful and unwarranted information on social media and online platforms through use of a Computer, it does not spare our Journalism profession either which largely thrives on access to unauthorized information.
