The Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) Spokesperson Charles Twine has revealed that Police is hunting for bloggers who announced President Yoweri Museveni and Kabaka of Buganda Kingdom Ronald Muwenda Mutebi dead.
Addressing journalists at Police Headquarters in Naguru on Monday, Twine noted that they have been undertaking investigations and so far they have arrested three people who had authored messages announcing Museveni dead.
He added that Police noticed with dismay that there are some people who have made it a habit to announce people dead and the force is to use laws under the Computer misuse Act section 25 to deal with perpetrators.
“In our culture here in Uganda when you abuse, the society looks at you as immoral and sometimes a wizard now when you announce someone dead, yet you are not from his/her family, personal doctor or a spokesperson of the institution of where he/she works or the hospital which has been treating that the person, the society condemns you as a person who is very indiscipline. Whereas the society condemns that person as a wizard, to us law enforcement agents especially CID we take up the matter as a crime,” Twine said.
“Our law clearly indicates that any person who communicates in the manner that ridicules or offends a person without any justifications committees an offence. To that effect as you recall you must have been seeing so many announcements, the other day was Eng Badru, the lord mayor, even announced the king of Buganda now they have announced the President dead, its very shameful.”
He added that the hunt is still going on to arrest more people who authored such information.
“I want also to warn the public to desist from sharing such information because we have very proficient cyber investigators and they are still in the field looking for so many people. This is also a plan by some people that are trying to create asylum grounds but the good news is that the jurisdictions where they, authorities have been informed that if they are to give them asylum, they need to consider some other things.”
Social media was last month awash with reports that President Museveni who had allegedly been flown to Nairobi had passed on. This forced Museveni to order security to arrest everyone who is behind such alarming propaganda.
After his order, a one Jamil Ssekyondwa from Luweero and two others were arrested and they will be arraigned before the Courts of law on Tuesday.
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