Jailed Daily Express journalist Remmy Asiteza has applied for bail before Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court, where he is facing charges of publishing fake news and broadcasting without a licence. Asiteza appeared before Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa on Wednesday and presented three sureties through his lawyers, led by Yasin Ssentumbwe Munagomba.
The proposed sureties are his friends Samuel Kizito, a software developer; Emmanuel Adowa, a surveyor; and Irene Rukundo, a reservation and IT manager. Asiteza’s lawyers told the court that they had explained the obligations attached to the suretyship and asked the magistrate to exercise her discretion and release their client on lenient bail terms.
However, prosecution, led by Chief State Attorney Joan Keko, asked for a short adjournment to study the bail documents and prepare a response to the application. The magistrate adjourned the matter to September 21, 2026, when the prosecution is expected to respond to the bail application.
According to a police charge sheet filed by Kampala Metropolitan Police, the first charge relates to a story allegedly published 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 portrayed Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda as corrupt and linked her to a scandal involving the recruitment of Assistant Resident District Commissioners. The charge was filed under Regulation 110(e) of the Uganda Communications (Licensing) Regulations, Statutory Instrument No. 95 of 2019.
Asiteza is also charged with 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 (UCC).
The case is registered as BUG-CO-1200/2026, while the police file is referenced as CPS KLA CRB 921/2026. Asiteza has denied the charges. His case comes amid increased prosecution of journalists and online broadcasters over alleged publication of false information and operating broadcasting services without regulatory licences.
On April 1, 2026, journalist Arnold Anthony Mukose, who was attached to Alternative Digitalk, an online television platform, was arraigned in court on charges of broadcasting fake news and sending false distress signals. Mukose had been arrested after appearing on a radio talk show in Kampala and was reportedly held incommunicado for several days before his first court appearance.
The prosecution alleged that between January and March 2026, Mukose and others still at large published false information on the Alternative Digital Channel claiming that First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni was dead. The prosecution said the publication caused distress to the First Lady. The charges against Mukose were dismissed two weeks ago for want of prosecution.
Mukose was also among petitioners who successfully challenged several provisions of the Computer Misuse Act, 2022, before the Constitutional Court. Following that ruling, the Attorney General advised security agencies, including the Police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, against charging suspects under sections of the law that had been nullified by the court.
Another case involved journalist-turned-TikToker Dean Lubowa Saava, who was convicted in February 2026 by the Makindye Chief Magistrates Court on charges relating to operating an online television broadcasting apparatus without a UCC licence and disobeying lawful orders issued by the regulator.
The court heard that between November 2018 and September 26, 2025, Lubowa and others installed and operated broadcasting equipment and provided services under the name TV10 – Gano Mazima in Lungujja, Kyobe Zone, Rubaga Division, Kampala, without a UCC licence.
Several complainants, including Deputy Inspector General of Government Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe, had petitioned the UCC over alleged defamatory broadcasts and sought regulatory intervention. The UCC said Lubowa had received repeated warnings before criminal proceedings were instituted against him. He was convicted following a plea bargain in which he agreed to reform after spending months in prison.
Chief Magistrate of the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court at Makindye, Gladys Kamasanyu, sentenced him to a combined fine of four million shillings on the three counts. In default of payment, Lubowa was ordered to serve six months in prison. The court also ordered the forfeiture of 45 pieces of broadcasting equipment seized from the TV10 – Gano Mazima offices and studio in Lungujja.
In a separate civil case, the High Court in Kampala on June 24, 2026, ordered Lubowa to pay 100 million shillings in general damages to Deputy Inspector General of Government Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe after finding that he had defamed her through a series of publications on his TikTok platform. Lady Justice Joyce Kavuma found that Lubowa had published statements that falsely portrayed Muhairwe as corrupt, dishonest, and unfit to hold public office, damaging her reputation and exposing her to public ridicule.
The court also issued a permanent injunction restraining Lubowa and his agents from making or publishing further defamatory statements about Muhairwe and ordered him to issue a public apology on the same TikTok platform where the statements had been published-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
