Woman remanded for insulting the President

CYBER HARASSMENT

KAMPALA- A woman, who was on Wednesday charged and remanded to Luzira prison on charges relating to insulting President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has failed to secure bail before Buganda Road court.

Yesterday when the case came up for bail application the state prosecutor Mariam Njuki told court that Police at Central Police Station (CPS) did not forward Susan Namata's file to court.

"Your worship i do not have the police file with me. I pray this case be adjourned to enable me respond to the bail application,"she requested.

This prompted the trial Grade one magistrate Stella Maris Amabilis to remand Namata, 21; to Luzira Prison until November 20, 2018, saying she will not be in the country for two weeks.

Even though Namata had secured an advocate Isaac Ssemakadde to present her bail application, court did not listen to him because he had presented no proof of practicing certificate to show that he is indeed an enrolled advocate.

This angered Ssemakadde, who promised to take up the matter to the Chief Justice, Bart Katureebe and the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mike Chibita. 

Namata; a resident of Najeera in Kiira Municipality, Wakiso district is facing two counts of cyber harassment and offensive communication which she denied knowledge of.

It's alleged that on August 2018 within Kampala and Wakiso districts during protests to free the Kyandondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi aka "Bobi Wine from Makindye Military Police barracks, the accused abused the President. 

According to prosecution, Namata with others still at large used a computer to record a video in which they used obscene words to insult the President of Uganda.

Prosecution further alleges that Namata willfully and repeatedly uploaded and distributed her obscene video on WhatsApp which according to the state disturbed the peace and privacy of the president. 

Namata was on   August 27, 2018   tracked down by officers at CPS using her phone contact and brought to book.