City Hall Magistrate’s court is set to slap Stanley Ndawula, a journalist and the CEO of the Investigator Publications Limited, with a number of charges including offending the police chief.
Ndawula, 45, was last week arrested together with his brother and fellow journalist Robert Ndawula before being detained at Kira road police station.
According to the charge sheet signed by Mike Chibita, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ndawula is accused of libel contrary to sections 179,180,181 and 182 of the Penal Code Act.
“On the 28th day of October 2017, at Kisaasi with an intent to defame Gen.Kale Kayihura, they published an article in the Investigator online alleging that Gen.Kayihura had resorted to killing his own police officers as a way of covering his crimes, a story which is false and has caused hatred, ridicule, contempt and has damaged the reputation of Gen.Kayihura,” reads part of the charge sheet.
The said offences according to the Director of Public Prosecutions were contained in an article titled; Civil rights activist pens down an open letter to Gen.Kale Kayihura every Ugandan should read, published in the Investigation, an online news website.
Ndawula has been in police detention for more than one week. He made his mark as a fearless crime reporter for the Red Pepper between 2006 and 2014. In the mid 1990s, he worked as a correspondent of Bukedde in the greater Masaka sub region.
According to the charge sheet, Ndawula is also to be charged with offensive communication contrary to section 25 of the Computer Misuse Act of 2011.
It is alleged that between September and October, Ndawula repeatedly and with intent to disturb the peace, quiet and privacy of Gen.Kale Kayihura wrote stories on social media alleging that the police boss was under arrest.
“He wrote that the military had cordoned off his home and that the IGP was engaged in criminal activities like murder, kidnap and espionage whereas not,”says the DPP.
This comes a few days after Nakawa magistrate Noah Ssajabbi asked police to produce the two journalists in the court of law or be released on bond after being detained beyond the mandatory 48 hours.
