The Directorate of CID and CMI, have charged to court a blogger known as Kasagga Bashir aka Kasagga Matovu, with 4 counts of Unauthorised Modification of computer material, under the Computer Misuse Act. The facts gathered indicate that during the month of August and September, 2022, while in the Kampala, the suspect, with requisite intent and knowledge, used his social engineering techniques to create, obtain and modify tweets and screenshots of twitter handles of the Defence Spokesperson @UPDFspokesperson, Uganda Police Force @PoliceUg, Annita Annet Among @Anita Among and Balaam Barugahare Ateenyi @Balaam 1980.
He then allegedly modified the codes to cause the sites to display a string of pictures and words that were abusive and offensive. Following months of bragging on social media, he was finally arrested and electronic gadgets which are relevant to the investigation, recovered from him.
The suspect has been the leader of the network of social media abusers. His communication matrix is linked to thousands of group members. It also clearly shows selected individuals and political groups, that have been glorifying and sponsoring his offensive behaviour, towards government officials and institutions. We have retrieved some of the deceptive posts, charts, accounts and pictorials, which he has been sharing with 6,588 followers on Twitter and 5,625 Facebook followers.
As the Joint Security Agencies, we have a duty to balance between crime and certain individual rights. Although cybercrimes cannot be eliminated, the risks of abuse can be mitigated through Law enforcement and expensive awareness. There is need to ensure that individuals and businesses understand the risks and also how to minimise their exposure to cybercrime.
We have meanwhile strengthened the Cyber Crime Unit at CID Headquarters, and come out with values ways of raising public awareness about cybercrime, as well as methods of mitigating risks, by pursuing perpetrators of cybercrime. We continue to develop their expertise.
The suspect has been charged with 4 counts of unauthorised modification of computer materials C/S 14 (1) and (6) of the Computer Misuse Act, 2011.
SCP Enanga Fred
Police Spokesperson
19th September 2022
