This archive report was first published on 2 August 2019.
On August 1, 2019, a Ugandan court convicted Stella Nyanzi, a university lecturer and researcher, of cyber harassment for a Facebook post critical of President Yoweri Museveni.
Nyanzi's post, which included profanity and sexually explicit language, was shared widely by her followers and drew the government's wrath.
The conviction is seen as a crackdown on dissent in Uganda, where President Museveni has been in power since 1986 and is increasingly becoming intolerant of criticism.
Human rights activists have accused the Ugandan government of using the Computer Misuse Act to harass, intimidate, and stifle government critics.
Amnesty International's Joan Nyanyuki said, 'This verdict is outrageous and flies in the face of Uganda's obligations to uphold the right to freedom of expression...and demonstrates the depths of the government's intolerance of criticism.'
