The fall of the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act, 2022

The Constitutional Court's decision in the consolidated petitions challenging the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act, 2022 removes from the statute book a set of offences that had, since their enactment, shaped how Ugandans spoke online and how institutions responded when they did not like what was said.

The immediate practical effect is the end of criminal liability for online speech under the impugned provisions. The more durable effect lies in the Court's reasoning. In grounding its analysis partly in Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Court signalled that the standard against which Uganda's digital legislation will be measured is a continental one, not merely a domestic constitutional one.

For regulated entities, platforms and public institutions, that reframing matters. It suggests that future regulation of digital conduct — whether directed at misinformation, data, or artificial intelligence — will be tested not only for whether Parliament had the power to enact it, but for whether the restriction it imposes is proportionate by reference to instruments the state has already accepted.

This is a draft placeholder. Full analysis and citations to be finalised at drafting.