Remmy Asiteza, a journalist with the Daily Express, will spend the next three weeks on remand at Luzira Prison after he was charged with publishing fake news and broadcasting without a licence. Asiteza, 32, was remanded on Thursday by Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa after spending one week in police custody at Central Police Station in Kampala.
He is expected to return to court on September 9, 2026, when investigations into the case are expected to have progressed. According to the police charge sheet filed by Kampala Metropolitan Police, Asiteza and others, still at large, are accused of publishing a story on the Daily Express website between July 7 and 8, 2026, titled: “Museveni Orders ISO Probe into Billions Swindled Under Assistant RDCs Recruitment Scheme.”
Prosecution alleges that the publication falsely stated that Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda was corrupt and involved in a scandal relating to the recruitment of Assistant Resident DistrictCommissioners. Asiteza denied the charges. The first charge was brought under Regulation 110(e) of the Uganda Communications (Licensing) Regulations, Statutory Instrument No. 95 of 2019.
He faces a second charge of broadcasting without a licence, contrary to Section 28(1) and (2) of the Uganda Communications Act. Prosecutors allege that Asiteza and others operated or broadcast through the Daily Express website without a licence issued by the Uganda Communications Commission.
State Attorney Joan Keko told the court that investigations into the matter were still ongoing. Asiteza, a resident of Ntinda Ministers Village in Nakawa Division, Kampala, was subsequently remanded to Luzira Prison. His case is registered as BUG-CO-1200/2026, while the police file is referenced as CPS KLA CRB 921/2026. The case comes amid a series of recent prosecutions involving journalists and online broadcasters over content published on digital platforms and alleged breaches of broadcasting regulations.
On April 1, journalist Arnold Anthony Mukose, attached to Alternative Digitalk, an online television platform, was arraigned in court on charges of broadcasting fake news and sending false distress signals. The prosecution alleges that between January and March 2026, Mukose and others still at large, published information on the Alternative Digital Channel claiming that First Lady Janet Kataha Museveni was dead, a publication the prosecution said caused distress to the First Lady.
Mukose was also among petitioners who successfully challenged several provisions of the Computer Misuse Act, 2022, before the Constitutional Court. Following the ruling, the Attorney General advised security agencies, including police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, against charging suspects under provisions of the law that had been nullified.
In February 2026, journalist-turned-TikToker Dean Lubowa Saava was convicted by the Makindye Chief Magistrates Court on charges related to operating an online television broadcasting apparatus without a UCC licence and disobeying lawful orders from the Uganda Communications Commission. Lubowa was sentenced to a combined fine of Shs4 million on the three counts, with a default sentence of six months in prison, following a plea bargain.
He also forfeited 45 pieces of broadcasting equipment seized from the TV10 – Gano Mazima offices and studio in Lungujja, Rubaga Division. On June 24, 2026, the High Court in Kampala further ordered Lubowa to pay Shs100 million in general damages to Deputy Inspector General of Government Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe after finding that he had defamed her through publications on TikTok.
The court found that statements published by Lubowa falsely portrayed Muhairwe as corrupt, dishonest, and unfit to hold public office. The court also issued a permanent injunction restraining Lubowa and his agents from publishing further defamatory statements about Muhairwe and ordered him to issue a public apology on the same TikTok platform-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
