Parliament has granted the Kampala Central Member of Parliament, Hon Muhammad Nsereko leave to introduce the Computer Misuse Amendment Bill 2022.
Among other things the bill proposes heavy fines or lengthy jail terms, a ban from holding public office and loss of office for convicted offenders.
Nsereko says the Bill is appropriate especially at such a time when the country is faced with increasing cyber-harassment.
“Without strengthening the existing legislation with stringent measures to address the gaps, the technological abuse with its grave impact on health, human relations and society at large, will continue to escalate the violation of the right to privacy,” he said.
The Bill also seeks to bar individuals who have been convicted of the offences relating to this Bill from holding public offices or losing it for those already in office.
“A person who is convicted under this Act shall not be eligible to hold a public office for a period of 10 years. Where a person convicted under this Act is a leader or public officer, he or she shall, in addition to the prescribed punishment, be dismissed from or vacate office,” reads clause 6 of the Bill.
Nsereko said for likes and views on social media sites, unscrupulous individuals blackmail innocents, sometimes for money, a vice he said must be nipped in the bud.
Sub clause 2 prescribes the penalty.
Sharing of “misleading or malicious information about or relating to any person through a computer” is to be criminalized under clause 5 of the Bill, with a Shs15 million fine or a seven year jail term or both such imprisonment and fine.
