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Uganda Passes Computer Misuse

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17 OCTOBER 2022
The Exchange Africa
By Albert Nangara

The past decade has seen a sharp increase in Africa's

internet penetration, mostly driven by the expansion of
mobile phone infrastructure.

This rise in connectivity has marked Africa as an emerging

market for all manner of ICT role players, including social
media companies, cloud service providers, telecoms
companies and hardware providers. This also makes the
region a priority hotspot for the expansion of foreign
platforms looking to expand their user bases.

It has resulted in an equally rapid expansion of cyber-

crimes & and the need to integrate cybersecurity into
business strategy and policy considerations.

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Writing, sending, or sharing any information through a

computer which includes smartphones, has now been
made illegal if it ridicules, degrades, or demeans another
person, group of persons, tribe, ethnicity, religion, or
gender. On top of that, it also criminalizes that same if
the information shared creates divisions among persons,
a tribe, an ethnicity, a religion, or a gender; and or,
promotes hostility against a person, group of persons, a
tribe, ethnicity group, religion, or gender.

The computer misuse law draws a very thin line between

online regulation and free speech and was introduced by
Kampala Central MP, Muhammad Nsereko.

It listed several punitive measures against people who

send malicious information, hate speech, unsolicited
information, and share information about children
without the consent of their parents or guardians. The
punishment for the convicted person is UGX 15 million
or a seven-year jail term, if not both.

This renders African cyberspace governance a core

international foreign policy and law issue.

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in South Africa &

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed & the

Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act, 2022, which
criminalizes unauthorized access to data and prohibits
sharing data relating to legal minors without authorization
from parents or guardians. The law also prohibits sending
or sharing false, malicious and unsolicited information.

The announcement was made on Thursday, October 14,

2022, by the Presidential Press Unit (PPU). According to
the PPU, the president signed four bills into law: the
Physical Planners' Registration Act, the Kampala Capital
City (Amendment) Act, the Mining and Minerals Act, and
the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Bill.

One legislator introduced the Computer Misuse

Amendment Bill 2022 to Uganda's Parliament and passed it
on July 19, 2022.

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The Uganda Computer Misuse Act was enacted earlier in

2011 to enhance safety and security in the digital arena by
preventing unlawful access, abuse or misuse of information
systems including computers and securing the conduct of
electronic transactions.

According to Tech Cabal, while these amendments would

naturally help national cohesion and deter cybercrime, but
countries like Uganda can and have used them to suppress
free speech and digital rights.

In July, Muhammed Nsereko, a Legislator, proposed an

amendment to the 2011 Act, arguing that the Act doesn't
take into consideration sharing information across social
media.

Millions of Zambians could be unable to make phone calls

as regulator deactivates SIM cards &

According to the bill, its objectives are "... to enhance the

provisions on unauthorised access to information or data; to
prohibit the sharing of any information relating to a child
without authorisation from a parent or guardian; to prohibit
the sending or sharing of information that promotes hate
speech; to provide for the prohibition of sending or sharing
false, malicious and unsolicited information... "

While most of the bill is similar to its 2011 predecessor, the

parliament introduced clauses for amendment of Section 12
of the bill. Clause 2 of the amendment reads:

"Any person who, without authorization, (a) accesses or

intercepts any program or another person's data or
information; (b) voice or video records another person; or
(c) shares any information about or that relates to another
person, commits an offence."

The bill also includes provisions combating online

harassment with further amendments prohibiting Ugandans
from writing, sending or sharing information which is likely
to ridicule, degrade or demean another person, tribe,
religion, or gender.

Some proposed amendments were struck out by the

parliament in September. For example, the bill initially
proposed the adoption of fines up to UGX 15 million
(US$3,900), and imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both for
the listed offences. All public officials found guilty of
offences under the bill would also face disbarment from
holding public positions for 10 years.

According to the ITU, the recent index shows a growing

commitment worldwide to tackle and reduce cybersecurity
threats. On the international front, the United States ranked
number one, followed by the United Kingdom and Saudi
Arabia, both shared the second place.

In Africa, Mauritius ranked top although it was 17th on the

global ranking. Egypt was second in Africa, followed by
Ghana. Uganda was the ninth on the list, but obviously this
will change with the new development.

Each country's development is assessed along the five

strategic pillars of the Union's Global Cybersecurity Agenda
(GCA): Legal Measures, Technical Measures,
Organisational Measures, Capacity Building, and
International Cooperation. This is then aggregated into an
overall score. The current assessment covers the 2019-
2020 period and reflects data collected during the Covid-19
pandemic.

(
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The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the

United Nations specialized agency & for information and
communication technologies (ICTs), driving innovation in
ICTs together with 193 Member States and a membership
of over 900 companies, universities, and international and
regional organizations. It was established over 150 years
ago.

Early this month Uganda was re-elected as a member of

the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council for
the period; 2023-2026 during the ITU Plenipotentiary
Conference which took place in Romania.

Uganda's delegation to the conference in Romania which

ran till October 14 was led by Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, the
Minister for ICT and National Guidance.

The seats in ITU Council are divided into five regions, A to

E. Uganda was elected into the ITU Council Region D for
Africa, which has 13 seats. Other 12 countries elected
alongside Uganda are Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya,
Mauritius, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Nigeria, Tanzania,
Tunisia, and South Africa.

Read the original article on The Exchange.

Tagged: Uganda East Africa Business

Legal Affairs ICT

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