Student sentenced to 6 months in prison for spreading false info on TikTok

The Nakawa Chief Magistrate's Court has sentenced a 20-year-old senior six student, Edison Ssemugenyi, to six months in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of malicious information under the Computer Misuse Act.

Ssemugenyi, who was arrested while preparing for his final examinations this year, appeared before Chief Magistrate Esther Nyadoi for sentencing on Tuesday.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to count one and count three, both relating to the publication of malicious information on his TikTok account @iam_edson. He denied the second count of hate speech, for which the trial will begin on January 6, 2026.

While delivering her ruling, Magistrate Nyadoi acknowledged Ssemugenyi's young age and his decision not to contest the charges he admitted to.

"He has not wasted the court's time by pleading guilty; he is also a young man who was in senior six and doing his final exams when he was arrested in this matter, and I believe he can change," she said.

The magistrate stressed that despite his young age, the offences were serious and called for punishment.

"For that to happen, he needs to be punished, though not with a deterrent punishment as prayed for by the State because of what I have explained above," she added.

According to the prosecution, Ssemugenyi used his TikTok platform between August and November 2025 to spread false information alleging that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was ill and bedridden, and that Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces, was a homosexual. Both statements were labelled as knowingly false and harmful.

Magistrate Nyadoi noted that although the law provides for an option of a fine for the offences, she found it inappropriate in this case.

"I also note that the sentence as provided for in the law provides an option for a fine. However, given the circumstances of the offense, I find that option does not abide, given the person is a fountain of the defence forces by virtue of their position. They deserve to be respected rather than spreading malicious information," she ruled.

She then sentenced Ssemugenyi to six months' imprisonment to run concurrently for the two counts he pleaded guilty to.

The remaining charge of hate speech stems from allegations that Ssemugenyi posted content branding the President a thief, which the State says was likely to degrade, ridicule, or promote hostility against the Head of State.