By Watchdog reporter
Buganda Road Magistrate James Ereemye Mawanda has sentenced Geoffrey Kasule,30 to 12 months in Luzira prison after pleading guilty over SIM boxing.
Kasule was charged with three counts; he was charged with unauthorised use or interception of computer service contrary to section 15 of the computer misuse act, electronic fraud c/s 19 of the computer misuse act, and operation of a telecommunications system without a license c/s 78&22 of the UCC act.
The accused pleaded guilty to all the accounts and he was convicted on his own plea of guilty.
Prosecution had asked court to give the accused a deterrent sentence (Count 1 attracts life imprisonment, and Count 2, fifteen years’ imprisonment), the defence submitted that the accused was a first-time offender and, by pleading guilty, had saved court time.
Accordingly, the Magistrate exercised his discretion and sentenced Kasule to only 12 months on each counts. The sentence is to run concurrently.
SIM Box fraud is the illegal termination of international calls to make it appear as if it’s a local call. There are tech-savvy people who get gadgets (SIM Boxes) to bypass networks of licensed operators to handle international calls, especially.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
