The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has committed to oppose Kampala Central MP Mohammed Nsereko's Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act, which President Museveni recently signed.
According to the party's deputy spokesperson, John Kikonyongo, Nsereko's act is one of the most hazardous acts that Uganda has ever seen, and the party will not submit to unjust laws.
“The Computer Misuse Act is one the very first dangerous Acts that we have ever gotten in Uganda,” Kikonyongo said.
“From our own experience, we look at the law from a political side, it's very dangerous for us and we are to defy it.”
According to the FDC's deputy spokesperson, party president Patrick Oboi Amuriat has already directed their lawyers to evaluate it and advise them accordingly.
“We can not allow this law that limits individual rights to stay… we can not,” he added.
President Museveni signed the contentious Computer Misuse Bill into law on Friday, October 13, 2022.
The law was introduced earlier this year by Kampala Central MP Nsereko before it was debated and passed by Parliament.
According to the proposed law, recording a person's voice or video without permission, or unauthorized access to their personal information is punishable by an Shs15 million fine, ten years in prison, or both.
Members of the public have criticized the law, but MP Nsereko recently defended it, claiming that it will govern social media and other media platforms, particularly when it comes to spreading fake news.
According to Nsereko, the law will hold people who wish to be leaders accountable and would deter them from sending and publishing harmful, false, and disparaging communications.
“We are not talking about responsible journalism; responsible journalists know their professional ethics. People know how to sue media houses or a journalist. There are laws protecting journalists and where and how they get their information,” Nsereko said.
