Museveni Drags Daily Monitor To Court

President Yoweri Museveni has finally sued the monitor publications to the High Court Civil Division for slander over an article that he secretly received Covid 19 jabs prior to the arrival of vaccines to Uganda.

This follows an ultimatum given to the publication by Museveni on Sunday to either apologize in bold letters on the front page or face court.

Through his lawyers of K and K Advocates, Museveni contends that on February 23, 2021, the newspaper published a false article claiming he and people within his inner circle had taken the China Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine.

Museveni says these allegations were based on falsehood and malice and without due care published and placed on the same page below a factual story “China gives Uganda 300,000 Doses  of COVID-19 Vaccine ” with his photograph and a visiting Chinese official.  

Museveni Drags Daily Monitor To Court

In his application the president further states that the newspaper even got clarification from sources they contacted including his Press Secretary, Don Innocent Wanyama, and Health Ministry Spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyona, dismissing the claims, they still published the story.

Museveni says this false propaganda portrays him as a selfish who abused his office as a head of state.

“It were understood to mean that the plaintiff has abdicated his duties and obligations to frontline health workers fighting COVID -19 and other groups that are vulnerable to the pandemic. The plaintiff cannot be trusted with the high office of the President of the Republic of Uganda”, reads the petition.

He wants the court to issue 7 orders including compelling Monitor Publication to pull down the said article online and publish an apology to him on all its platforms with the same prominence as the offending article and posts and with wordings agreed to by him in advance.

He also wants the court to issue a permanent injunction restraining Monitor Publication and their servants from publishing the defamatory words ever against him.

He also wants to be compensated an unspecified amount of money in form of general and exemplary damages and costs of the suit with interest.

His lawyers say that the defamatory statements were widely circulated by the respondents among the public in Uganda and intentionally through the monitor online edition and the Monitor Twitter and Facebook accounts reaching millions of people to shun him.

Museveni has also attached evidence from dozens of people who attacked and criticized him on various social media platforms, as a result.

“See his eyes; the medicine is stronger than him” reads one Facebook comment by one, Ben Kyeyo Rugaba on the story.

Museveni also defends his suit, saying that he wrote to the Monitor Publication on February 24th indicating his intention to sue and demanding a retraction of the statement in vain.

Monitor Publications Limited has responded to the suit through its lawyers of Nangwala, Resida and Company Advocates, saying their article wasn’t defamatory.

“We have analyzed the questioned publication very carefully. The words quoted in your letter were actually not the publication but we’re just part of the publication. The words quoted in their natural and ordinary meaning, even if untrue cannot pass the test of a defamatory publication” reads the March 3, 2021 response from the Monitor.

Monitor also adds that the article was published first as a rumour, which was already in the public domain and sought their views with intentions to dispel the rumour, which was not done by other publications.

The Civil Division High Court Registrar, Jameson Karemani has summoned Monitor to file their defence within fifteen days.

The matter is before Justice Musa Ssekaana, the head of the High Court Civil Division pending fixing a hearing date.

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