Piracy remains one of the most persistent threats to Uganda’s creative industry, undermining the livelihoods of filmmakers, musicians, broadcasters, and other content creators who depend on their work for income.
During an episode of The Ugandan Podcast, hosted by the Ministry of ICT & National Guidance, regulators, industry players, and creatives revealed that the fight against piracy is becoming more urgent, complex, and costly.
Dr. Abdul Sallam Waiswa, Head of Litigation, Prosecution and Legal Advisory at the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), described piracy as a broad term summarizing any action through which someone accesses another person’s creative work and uses it for personal benefit without permission. He explained that the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act of 2006 grants creators full ownership of their original works, and any interference with their commercial rights is punishable.
“If you publish your movie, write your song or book, the law gives you exclusive rights. Anyone that interferes with those rights could amount to piracy,” he emphasized.
From illegally copying films to decrypting pay-TV signals and using internet-based devices that broadcast premium content for free, the forms of piracy have evolved and multiplied. Dr. Waiswa noted that even individuals who believe they are simply watching a movie are often unknowingly participating in copyright infringement.
“People feel like they are just watching a movie that is expensive at the cinema, but if you copy that movie, put it on a CD and show it on TV without permission, that is piracy because you are denying the owner a chance to commercially exploit their work,” he said.
Device-based piracy has grown rapidly in recent years. These devices, often purchased from abroad, come loaded with software that illegally decrypts signals from pay-TV services.
“Once they connect to the internet, they unlock the encryptions that providers like DStv have put in place and show all channels for free,” Dr. Waiswa said, calling these devices a major threat to the industry.
For MultiChoice Uganda, the financial implications are staggering. Rinaldi Jamugisa, PR and Communications Manager, described piracy bluntly:
“For me, piracy in simple terms is theft—and theft is taking what doesn’t belong to you.”
According to Jamugisa, pirates acquire content through illegal channels, evade the high licensing and production costs, and sell it cheaply—undermining legitimate broadcasters.
“Where it will cost you 10 times more, they find ways of acquiring the content and pushing it through these devices. So, they are selling stolen content while we bear the cost,” he explained.
Citing a 2020 International Chamber of Commerce report, Jamugisa noted that East Africa loses an estimated $110 billion annually to piracy, while Uganda alone loses $110 million, including $25.3 million in government revenue. Beyond financial loss, piracy devastates livelihoods.
“When you steal from creators, you are taking away their ability to take their children to school or afford medical care. A film set has very many people working on it, and when you steal from a film, you deny all these people income,” he said.
For filmmakers, the impact is personal and severe. Award-winning producer and actor Mathew Nabwiso of Nabwiso Films said piracy has made filmmaking increasingly unsustainable.
“Making film is very expensive and risky. I have been on projects where you run out of funds, but you must continue. You have a crew and actors to pay but you are unable to pay them enough because someone has taken a chunk of what should be going to them. It is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed,” he said.
Nabwiso also raised concerns about platforms such as Muno Watch, which he said host pirated foreign films while competing directly with local creators.
“As I’m trying to put a Ugandan film out there, Muno Watch has about 1,000 American films that are pirated. What steps are you taking to address such platforms?” he asked UCC.
In response, Dr. Waiswa acknowledged the concerns but stressed UCC’s structural limitations, noting that not everything about piracy falls within its mandate. However, he emphasized that all UCC licensees commit to airing only authorized content and encouraged creators to report infringements.
“If you see anybody playing your music or movies without permission, report to us. Once you report, we can investigate,” he said.
MultiChoice is also investing heavily in anti-piracy technology. Through its global cybersecurity arm, Irdeto, the company works with platforms such as YouTube and TikTok to take down pages that illegally stream its content.
Jamugisa warned consumers about the hidden dangers of pirated streaming sites, including cybercrime, data theft, and links to criminal networks.
“You subscribe, put your email, phone number, home location, accept cookies and permissions, and these sites mine your data. People suddenly see money missing from accounts because their credit card details were stolen. Also, when you pay such sites, that money could be funding terrorism—hence participating in criminal activities unknowingly,” he stressed.
Despite the scale of the challenge, all parties agree that collective action involving creators, regulators, broadcasters, and the public is essential to curb piracy, protect the livelihoods of content creators, and ensure the sustainability of Uganda’s creative sector.