The Constitutional Court in Kampala has ruled that Section 25 of the Computer Misuse Act, 2011 which speaks about offensive communication contravenes the constitution and is therefore outlawed.
In 2016, two people including lawyer Andrew Karamagi and Robert Shaka went to court to challenge that section of the law that they argued infringes on citizens right.
Section 25 of the Computer Misuse Act 2001 also known commonly as offensive communication is described as the “willful and repeated use of electronic communication to disturb or attempt to disturb the peace, quiet or right of privacy of any person with no purpose of legitimate communication whether or not a conversation ensues” and is punishable by “a fine not exceeding twenty four currency points or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both.”
However today, a panel of five justices of the Constitutional Court including the Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, Kenneth Kakuru, Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Elizabeth Musoke and Monica Mugenyi ruled that the law is unconstitutional.
According to the court, in a democratic and free society, prosecuting people for the content of their communication is a violation of what falls within guarantees of freedom of expression in a democratic society.
The court insisted that is unjustifiable for the freedom of speech to be curtailed in a free and democratic society like Uganda. END