Kampala, Uganda | URN | Chief Political Commissar of Police, AIGP Asan Kasingye, has defended President Museveni’s decision to block one of his followers on Twitter. This follows a suit filed by Hillary Innocent Taylor Seguya, a Harvard University student in August 2019 challenging the President through the Attorney General for blocking him on twitter.
In the same suit, Seguya also challenges the Kasingye, government Spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo for blocking him from accessing their respective Twitter handles as well.
He contends that the decision of the three government officials denied him a right to participate in the affairs of his country, arguing that it was unnecessary in a free and democratic state.
Through his lawyer, Male Mabirizi, Seguya argued that the three twitter handles were helping them as people living in the diaspora to get information and feedback from the state actors.
He asked the court to declare the decision by the trio to block him from following them on twitter as illegal.
In his response to the suit on November 8, 2019 in an affidavit, Kasingye says Seguya’s application is misconceived, lacks merit and amounts to abuse of court process.
He states that he opened his twitter handle in April 2015 as a personal account for his private use.
“My account is for private/personal interest such as family, football, religion, sharing jokes and at times police-related matters but at a personal level like any other Ugandan citizen,” reads the affidavit in part.
Kasingye says his Twitter profile shows clearly that his views are not necessarily those of the Uganda Police Force and neither do they represent his official position in the force.
He says that Seguya can get information about Uganda or President Museveni through State House twitter handle and different media organisations, through their social media and websites, among other options.
He also says that the same information can be obtained from Media Centre via its official Twitter handle as well as its website.
“I have been advised by the Attorneys from the Attorney General’s Chambers whose advice I verily believe to be true that the twitter handles @KagutaMuseveni and @OfwonoOpondo are private twitter handles and not for the offices they hold,” the affidavit adds.
He asked the court to dismiss Seguya’s application arguing that he (Kasingye) enjoys the constitutional right to decide who to associate with on his private or personal account. Court is yet to start hearing the matter.
