By Watchdog reporter
The long silenced ‘war’ between city Lawyer, Fred Muwema and faceless government critic, Tom Voltaire Okwalinga (TVO) has been awakened with a big boomerang.
Muwema last year dragged TVO to court seeking Facebook Management to reveal his identity but Justice Binchy declined to order Facebook reveal TVO’s identity on premise of Uganda’s dented human rights record which poses an imminent threat to his life.
On Monday, Muwema appealed at the Court of Appeal in Ireland challenging the recent decision of protecting the social media activist.
Through his lawyers, Lavelle Solicitors based at St. James House Adelaide Road, Dublin, Muwema seeks an order setting aside Mr Justice Binchy’s refusal to order Facebook to reveal TVO’s identity.
According to Monitor newspaper, the Irish based lawyers now want Facebook to, “provide the appellant with details which it holds relating to the identities or vocation of the persons who operate the TVO Facebook page,” arguing that in the absence of a disclosure order against TVO, their client remains wholly unable to pursue any action against TVO, “and remains liable and susceptible to ongoing posts and articles from TVO.” They also want Facebook to meet unspecified costs of the suit.
Muwema accuses TVO of defamation following his Facebook post in 2016 which allegedly framed him (Muwema) for accepting a Shs900 million bribe delivered by Jim Muhwezi, then minister of information and national guidance to stage-manage a break into his Kololo based offices by state security agents who allegedly made off with critical make or break material evidence that dealt a blow to his client and former Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi’s presidential election petition challenging the outcome of the February 2016 election won by President Yoweri Museveni.
