Firebrand lawyer Isaac Ssemakadde has dragged the government of Uganda to the East African court of justice over the enactment of the controversial Computer Misuse Act.
Ssemakadde who is the CEO of Legal Brains Trust argues that it is futile to take such a matter to Ugandans courts which he says he distrusts.
“Maize cannot expect justice in a Court composed of chickens” he said adding that“This matter is too important to be left to the biased Ugandan Judiciary.”
Semakadde’s Legal brains trust with support by Isabella Nakiyonga in their affidafit argue that The Computer Misuse Act passed recently is invalid because it infringes on the principles of Good governance in Uganda.
The human rights watchdog filed the petition on Tuesday at the Arusha-based East African Court of Justice.
The court has now summoned Uganda’s Attorney General to file the government’s response within 45 days without fail.
The Computer Misuse Act was moved as private member’s Bill tabled on the floor of Parliament by Kampala Central MP Hon. Muhammad Nsereko before being passed by Parliament on the 9th September, 2022 and assented to by President Museveni on 13th October 2022.
The Legal Brains Trust says that this law contains clauses that blatantly threatens to violate the principles of good governance enshrined in Articles 6 (d) and 72 (2) of the East African Community treaty.
“the Computer Misuse Act infringes the principles of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, accountability, transparency, social justice, equal opportunities, as well as the recognition, promotion, protection and maintenance of universally accepted standards of human Rights in Uganda.” LBT said in a statement
The human rights watchdog further accuses government of violating Human Rights in Uganda;
” Uganda violated it’s duties under Article 9, 13 and 25 of the African Charter on the Human and People’s Right, Article 25 of the international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” – The Legal Brains Trust. adding that
“It is a defectively processed blunt instrument that disproportionately restricts freedom of Expression online on vague, overly broad and unfounded pretext, and will immediately be weaponized by the Ugandan authorities to silence dissent and prevent people from speaking out against bad governance” – The Legal Brains Trust
Ssemakadde and his colleagues now want the East African court of justice to order government of Uganda to cease and desist from implementation of any part of the contested law.
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