A 21-year-old TikTok influencer, Emmanuel Nabugodi, has been sentenced to 32 months in prison for a video that ridiculed President Yoweri Museveni.
The sentencing, issued by Chief Magistrate Stellah Maris Amabilis, comes amid increasing concerns about the suppression of free speech in Uganda.
Nabugodi, who boasts a following of 20,000 on TikTok, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including spreading hate speech and disseminating false information.
The contentious video featured a mock trial of President Museveni, where Nabugodi provocatively called for the president’s public flogging.
During the court proceedings, Magistrate Amabilis expressed disappointment over Nabugodi’s apparent lack of remorse, stating, “This court hopes that by the time the convict leaves prison, he would have learnt that abusing people in the name of getting content is bad.”
The case is a testament to the Uganda’s amended Computer Misuse Act, enacted in 2022, which prohibits the mockery or degradation of individuals, purportedly aimed at protecting public figures.
Advocacy groups assert that such laws are routinely weaponized to intimidate and silence critics of Museveni’s long-standing government, which has been in power since 1986. The U.S. State Department’s 2023 human rights report underscores the act’s role in stifling online dissent and intimidating citizens.
Nabugodi’s sentencing follows that of another influencer, Edward Awebwa, who received six years for similar offences.
