A Ugandan magistrate has sentenced 24-year-old Edward Awebwa to six years in prison for posting TikTok videos that insulted President Yoweri Museveni, First Lady Janet Museveni, and their son, military head Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Awebwa faced four charges, including hate speech and the dissemination of “misleading and malicious” information. Among the claims made in his videos was an assertion that taxes would increase under the current administration.
While Awebwa pleaded guilty and requested leniency, Magistrate Stella Maris Amabilis noted that the defendant did not appear remorseful and described the language used in the videos as “really vulgar.” The magistrate stated that the six-year concurrent sentence was intended to teach the defendant to respect the president and his family.
The ruling has drawn criticism from human rights advocates who highlight a pattern of suppressing freedom of expression in Uganda. Similar cases include:
- Kakwenza Rukirabashaija: An award-winning author who fled to Germany in 2022 after being charged with “offensive communication” for remarks about the president.
- Stella Nyanzi: An activist and writer who was previously jailed for a critical poem regarding Museveni.
Although Uganda’s constitutional court recently struck down a section of the law penalizing “offensive communication,” human rights lawyers argue that the broader legislation used to charge Awebwa remains vague and unconstitutional.
Critics maintain that public figures should be open to criticism and that such sentences stifle online speech in a country where President Museveni has held power since 1986.
