Blogger arrested, charged as Computer Misuse Act comes into force

The Directorate of CID and CMI, have charged to court a blogger known as Kasagga Bashir aka Kasagga Matovu, with 4 counts of Unauthorized Modification of computer material, under the Computer Misuse Act.
It is alleged that during August and September 2022, while in Kampala, the suspect, with intent and knowledge, used his social engineering techniques to create, obtain and modify tweets and screenshots of Twitter handles of the Defence Spokesperson @UPDFspokesperson, Uganda Police Force @PoliceUg, Annita Annet Among @Anita Among and Balaam Barugahare Ateenyi @Balaam 1980.
Kasagga allegedly modified the codes to cause the sites to display a string of pictures and words that were abusive and offensive.
However, police spokesperson SCP Fred Enanga says that after months of bragging on social media, Kasagga was finally arrested and the electronic gadgets which are relevant to the investigation, were recovered from him.
Enanga adds that the suspect has been the leader of the network of social media abusers with his communication matrix being linked to thousands of group members.
“It also clearly shows selected individuals and political groups, that have been glorifying and sponsoring his offensive behaviour, towards government officials and institutions. We have retrieved some of the deceptive posts, chats, accounts and pictorials, which he has been sharing with 6,588 followers on Twitter and 5,625 Facebook followers,” says Enanga.
As the Joint Security Agencies, Enanga adds that they have a duty to balance crime and certain individual rights. And that although cybercrimes cannot be eliminated, the risks of abuse can be mitigated through Law enforcement and expensive awareness. There is a need to ensure that individuals and businesses understand the risks and also how to minimize their exposure to cybercrime.
“We have meanwhile strengthened the Cyber Crime Unit at CID Headquarters, and come out with values ways of raising public awareness about cybercrime, as well as methods of mitigating risks, by pursuing perpetrators of cybercrime. We continue to develop their expertise,” Enanga added.
The suspect has been charged with 4 counts of unauthorized modification of computer materials C/S 14 (1) and (6) of the Computer Misuse Act, 2011.