Ugandan Student Jailed for TikTok Post Targeting President Museveni

By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu

A Ugandan student has been sentenced to two months in prison over a TikTok video deemed offensive to President Yoweri Museveni and the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among.

The student, Elson Tumwine, was reported missing on June 8 in Hoima District, where he was undergoing an internship. After public concern and speculation about his whereabouts, he appeared in police custody last week and was charged in connection with a social media post.

Authorities said the post featured a doctored video implying that Speaker Among had accused the president of past crimes.

Tumwine pleaded guilty to “offensive communication” in a court in Entebbe and issued a formal apology, according to police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke.

“The video was intended to ridicule, demean, and incite hostility against the president and the speaker,” Rusoke said.

The case has triggered criticism from human rights advocates, who say freedom of expression in Uganda is under growing threat as the country prepares for its next general election in January.

“Tumwine is one of several people being prosecuted for social media content critical of the government,” said Kato Tumusiime, a lawyer and rights activist. “We are seeing increasing use of such charges as a tool of political suppression.”

In a similar case last year, another Ugandan was convicted for sharing a video considered insulting to the president.

President Museveni, in power since 1986, is expected to seek re-election in 2026. Civil society organisations have repeatedly warned of shrinking democratic space and repression of dissent under his leadership.