Emmanuel Nabugodi, a comedian, was sentenced on Monday, November 18, 2024, days after pleading guilty to four charges, including hate speech and spreading malicious information about the president.

He ran into trouble with the authorities after posting a video featuring a mock trial of the Ugandan Head of State. In the video, which he shared with more than 20,000 followers on his account, he called for Museveni’s public flogging.

Chief Magistrate Stellah Maris Amabilis, while passing the sentence, said the accused showed no remorse and that the sentence would serve as a deterrent to social media attacks against individuals, including the president.

"This court hopes that by the time the convict leaves prison, he will have learned that abusing people in the name of content creation is wrong," she said.

Nabugodi has 14 days to lodge an appeal against the sentence.

The young man is among several individuals charged under a 2022 amendment to the Computer Misuse Act, which has faced opposition from some rights groups. Three others are awaiting trial over content shared on the social media app.

The amendment made it illegal to "write, send, or share any information through a computer that is likely to ridicule, degrade, or demean another person, group of persons, a tribe, an ethnicity, a religion, or gender."

In July, a 24-year-old man was sentenced to six years in prison for insulting the First Family through a TikTok video.

Edward Awebwa was charged with hate speech and spreading "misleading and malicious" information against Museveni, First Lady Janet, and General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is the head of the Ugandan army.

Although Awebwa pleaded guilty and asked for forgiveness, the presiding magistrate noted that he did not appear remorseful and that the language used in the video was "extremely vulgar."

TikToker Emmanuel Nabugodi was convicted on Monday, November 18, 2024 over his mock trial of President Yoweri Museveni.