A court in Mukono district, Uganda, has sentenced TikTok user Edward Awebwa to six years in prison for posting a video with vulgar and denigrating comments about President Yoweri Museveni, his wife Janet, and First Son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also the Chief of Defense Forces of the UPDF. Awebwa was convicted on four counts and received six years for each, to be served concurrently.
The sentence was handed down by Mukono Grade One Magistrate Stella-Maris Amabirisi, following Awebwa’s guilty plea. The Magistrate considered his young age and his decision to plead guilty, thus not wasting the court’s time, in deciding not to impose the maximum penalty. However, the state prosecution, led by Janet Kitumbo, had sought the maximum sentence to deter other young people from misusing social media.
Awebwa admitted in court that he had been paid to create the offensive videos. The Magistrate expressed that the language used in the videos was particularly offensive and stated that the sentence should serve as sufficient punishment to help Awebwa learn from his mistakes. Awebwa has up to two weeks to appeal the judgment in a higher court.
