A Ugandan court has convicted a 21-year-old TikTok user, Emmanuel Nabugodi, for calling on social media for the public whipping of President Yoweri Museveni. Nabugodi, who shared a video featuring a mock trial of Museveni, faces up to seven years in prison on charges of inciting hate speech against the President.
After pleading guilty, Nabugodi has been detained at Kigo maximum-security prison near Kampala, awaiting sentencing on November 18. State Attorney Paul Aheebwa Byamukama informed the Entebbe court that prosecutors are seeking a seven-year sentence.
This marks Nabugodi as the fourth Ugandan in two days to be detained over statements against the President and his family. In July, another 21-year-old TikToker received a six-year sentence for insulting Museveni, who has held power since overthrowing President Milton Obote in 1986.
In a related case, prominent author Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was arrested in late 2021 for alleged insults against Museveni and his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, rumored to be positioning himself as his father’s successor. Rukirabashaija, who received the 2021 PEN Pinter Prize for his courageous writing, claims he was tortured in custody before fleeing to Germany.
In 2020, four members of a Ugandan comedy troupe were also jailed after releasing a video satirically calling on Ugandans to pray for the country’s leaders, including Museveni, the police chief, and the head of the prison system.
